


She Always Falls (Into The Light) ~ Supercorp/Trimberly AU

by Moshi24jump



Category: Power Rangers (2017), Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Gay Mess Trini (Power Rangers), How Do I Tag, I'm Bad At Tagging, Kryptonian Samantha "Sam" Arias, Lena Luthor Needs a Hug, Lesbian Trini (Power Rangers), M/M, Minor Billy Cranston/Jason Lee Scott, Minor Samantha "Sam" Arias/Alex Danvers, Minor Veronica Sinclair (DCU), Not Beta Read, Slow Burn, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:35:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 29,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26744470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moshi24jump/pseuds/Moshi24jump
Summary: ///TRIGGER WARNING : SUICIDE ATTEMPT"...""...""I'm so sorry.""Goodbye, Kara."Lena hung up the call.The one in which Lena almost dies and comes back as a power ranger. Lightly salted with a POUND of Angst.Read at your own risk.This is a highSchool AU, but It doesn't factor much into the story.Trigger Warnings: Suicidal thoughts, attempt. Angst.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, Kimberly Hart/Trini, Samantha "Sam" Arias/Alex Danvers
Comments: 59
Kudos: 128





	1. Trini

**Author's Note:**

> This is a High School AU. Kara is 19. Lena is 17 and is in senior year, Alex still works for the DEO, she's 20. As is Sam. Ruby is a toddler.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Power Rangers really deserves a sequel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trimberly Impact in 3...2...1...

**Trini**

Trini stomped down the road with her go-bag swinging from her side. Today's little spat with her mother left her in a particularly bad mood. 

"Hey! Crazy Girl! Wait up!"

Trini turned at the sound of Zack's voice.

"Woah! What's got you so worked up?"

"Hey Zack." Trini sighed. "It was nothing."

Zack stared at her intently until it got uncomfortable.

"Okay, fine! Mom invited that stupid jock for dinner again yesterday."

"What?! Did he do something? I swea-"

"Hey! Calm down! I can take care of myself-"

"I know."

"-and I skipped the dinner."

"Oh. I'm guessing your mum loved that. You did eat something, right?"

"I went to Kim's." 

Zack stopped walking.

"Oooooh!" Trini's face flushed.

"Shut up, Zack! It wasn't like that!"

"You had dinner with your girlfriend?!"

"She's not my girlfriend!"

"Oh that's right! You haven't told her yet!"

"Zack I swear-"

"What are you waiting for?!"

"I can't just go tell her! I don't even think she likes girls!"

"Have you seen-"

"Besides, she's with Jason."

"What?! No she isn't, you dummy!"

"Who're you calling dummy?!"

"Wait. There she is! Hey! Kim! Over here!"

Trini poked Zack in the side.

"Ow!"

"Hey guys!" Kim popped up out of nowhere. "We still on for tonight?"

"Yes. Dump your stuff in Billy's van."

"Mini-Van!" Billy and Jason rounded the van to join the gang.

"Hey, Jason. Billy."

"Hey guys!"

"Kim! Got the food?"

"Yeah. Please don't finish it before we even get there."

Zack started digging through it immediately. Trini rolled her eyes.

"Guys. There is about a forty percent chance it might rain today."

"Cool!"

"We might get hypotermia."

"We're superhuman!"

"Okay! All onbroad!" Jason yelled from the front of the van. 

"That's not how the saying goes." 

"Billy, just drive."

"Shotgun!"

***

They drove out to the mine. Since they first discovered the place, they had made a small space for themselves in there. The spaceship was right beneath them, and they had started hacking into the mine to see if there were anyone other cool Ranger stuff left there. Billy had picked up on a couple different signatures. 

The second the stopped, Kim and Zack hauled out the cooking kit and Trini grabbed the rest of the stuff. Billy ran over to the mine. 

Trini watched as Kim moved their stuff to the shaded side against the overhead cliff. She carried most of the stuff with ease. Zack threw a rock at her. 

"Hey!"

Zack wiggled his eyebrows at her suggestively. Trini flipped him off, feeling the heat rise to her cheek. Zack winked at her.

"Hey Kim!"

"No, Zack, what are you doing? Shut up!"

"Hey! Kim!"

"What?!"

Kim jogged back to Zack and Trini.

"Wanna go swimming? Crazy Girl's feeling a bit hot."

Trini looked away feeling her face turn into a tomato.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Let me just grab some spare clothes."

Trini smacked Zack's head. 

"Stop abusing me, woman! Sheesh."

"I can't believe you, Taylor."

Kim returned with a bag and dumped it unceremoniously into Zack's arms. 

"Hey, Jason, Billy! We're going to the space pool! Wanna come?" 

Jason turned away from Billy, who was intently staring at a little screen while muttering random nonsense. 

"Nah, you guys go ahead. Billy found something new, I'll stay and keep an eye on him."

"Okay. We'll be back in a bit. Holler if you find something."

Jason nodded and turned back to the mine. Zack let out a whoop and ran towards the direction of the ravine. 

Kim and Trini fell together in a comfortable silence as they walked after Zack. 

"Hey, you okay?"

Trini looked at Kim. "Hmm?"

Kim hesitated. "Yesterday, you seemed really upset."

Trini smiled. "I'm fine now."

Kim nodded and smiled. "Well in that case." Kim stepped closer. 

Trini inhaled sharply. She could see the gold specks in Kim's eyes. Kim cocked an eyebrow. 

"Race you."

Kim sprinted after Zack laughing.

"Hey! no fair!"

Trini dashed after the two. 

***

Trini slammed into Kim and almost tumbled into the ravine. A laughter bubbled out of her. Kim and her wheezed for breathe for a good twenty minutes before Zack called them out on it. 

"See ya on the flip side!" Zack plummeted down the ravine.

Kim and Trini looked at each other. 

"Got any water?" Kim asked her.

Trini grabbed her and jumped into the ravine. 

***

Later, the five gathered around a campfire roasting smores and watching a movie on Jason's laptop. Well, before they realized that Billy was right, and that they were gonna get rained in anyway. They moved camp inside the spaceship. 

"Hey! Billy! Where're you wandering off to?"

"Trini, did you get the marshmallows inside?" Trini handed Zack the marshmallows. 

"Sweet!"

A loud beeping interrupted the merry band. 

"Guys! That's my Ranger Coin detector!"

"Cool! What does it say?"

"You really need to work on that name."

"Shhhh. Everyone shut up!"

A low grumbling sound echoed from around them. 

"I think it's coming from the outside." Jason whispered. 

The Rangers walked out of the spaceship back to the mine. 

"Here." Billy touched the part of the mine where they had found their coins. Kim placed her hand against it.

"Is it...?"

"Vibrating? I think so."

The sound got gradually louder.

"Uhhh, guys?"

Jason suddenly started.

"Billy, move away!" Jason tackled him to his side.

"Guys..?"

"What _is_ that?"

The five backed away from the mine. 

The rumble grew louder and louder until they could see it. Barely. A Ranger Coin, moving through the stone like it was water. It approached them rapidly.

"What the h-"

With a loud crack, it finally broke free of the stone and shot threw the air.

"GUYS!"

A loud crash accompanied Zack's yell. They turned just in time to see a grey blur crash into the ground ten feet in front of them. Something emitted light from the middle of it. It grew brighter and brighter until they realized that the light was actually from a car. A car that was currently totaled. A car that just fell down a hundred feet cliff.

"HOLY SHIT!"

And then the car blew up.


	2. Lena

Lena was so _angry._ Everything she knew, everyone she trusted, all of it came crashing down around her. The words bounced around her head, getting heavier and heavier, searing her brain from the inside. Or maybe it was just the alcohol. It didn't matter. Her head pounded, her eyes burned, her nose was stuffy and her hands were cold. She gripped the steering wheel so hard her hands turned pale. Her eyes shone with unspoken rage and hurt and tears. She turned the music to its highest volume and drowned in it. 

***

It was getting late. She drove around a bit, having no aim, no destination. Her rage was still white-hot. Her hurt still agonizing.

She was so lost. 

_How did she never see it? All the times with Kara. All the times with Supergi_ _rl. With Alex and James. Her 'family'._

Everything was a lie. She should've known, more than anyone. Family is always devious, manipulative. Exhausting. Difficult. She was a fool to think it was going to be different. To think that she could belong anywhere. She will never belong. She was a Luthor, after all. 

***

She pulled up on a cliff. It was raining heavily, and her car finally broke down. Wiping away her tears, she got out of the safety of her car and into the rain that felt like bullets were pelting into her. She popped open the hood and messed around a bit. 

She knew what was wrong. Of course she did. She was the greatest genius of the generation. She stared into the smoky engine. This was fine. It was a problem she could fix. She could always fall back into Science. it never lies and it never hurts her. 

She fixed it with ease and slumped down at the edge of the cliff.

She was cold. She felt it. The rain battering her body. Her wet clothes sticking to her skin. The alcohol through her veins. Voices from the bottom of the cliff. 

Voices?

She peered over the edge at the bottom of the cliff. She could barely make out anything, but it sounded like teenagers.

"...ck! Get back..."

" What...? Its..."

"...Trini!"

Lena ignored the voices and climbed back into her car. Laughter and screams reached her from the bottom of the cliff. Lena wiped the rain from her face to realize it was mixed with her tears. A sob wracked through her. She gripped the wheel with both her hands and willed the tears away. It only poured down faster.

If only Lex could see her now. His little sister Lena. So weak. So gullible.

So _weak._

She worked so hard to get away from the Luthor name. But she could never do anything right. She will never be enough. 

She will never amount to anything. To anyone. Not even...

The thought of her name sent new waves of hurt and pain through her brain. She took a swing of the bottle she kept on the side. 

Kara. She could picture her face. Smiling. Laughing. She could almost touch it. Touch her.

Hurt her. 

Why could she never hurt her? 

Hurt all of them. Like they hurt her. To make them feel the pain she feels. To make them feel the agony. Like being stabbed a million times.

Maybe she could. 

She gripped the steering wheel again. Would they feel the pain if she was there? If she was dead? Knowing that they were the ones who caused it, they were the ones who couldn't save her.

She fished out her phone from her bag. She spoke to Kara so often, she was the only person on her speed dial. She raised her shaky hand to her ears and waited.

"Hello?"

Lena's throat went dry. Was she really going to do this? The voice felt like a slap to her face.

"Hey! Lena, are you there?"

Lena closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face.

"Leeeeena?"

"I-I know. I know, Kara."

"Lena?"

"I KNOW! All the times I was with you. Tell me Lex was wrong. Tell me that I wasn't a fool. Tell me that you didn't lie to me for years."

"...Lena I-. I never-"

"Say it."

"What?"

"Say. It."

"...I-. I am Supergirl."

She poured all her anger and betrayal into the next sentence.

"How could you?"

Her voice broke. 

"...Lena, I'm so sor-"

"Don't! Don't you DARE apologize to me. You- You knew. About Lillian. Lex. Me. I shared EVERYTHING with you. I trusted you."

"..."

"I loved you."

Kara inhaled sharply.

"Lena I-"

"I kissed you."

"..."

"..."

"I'm so sorry."

"Goodbye, Kara."

Lena hung up the call. 

They will feel the pain. Her pain. All of them. 

They will suffer. Like she did. For years and years.

Lena kicked down the accelerator. The edge of the cliff approached her fast. They WILL feel her pain.

It was coming closer each second. 

Was she really going to do this?

No.

Lena slammed down the brakes. She wanted to live. 

The car squelched across the muddy ground. The brakes were useless. It was too late. 

And she was airborne. 

_She wanted to live._

The ground was blooming up to meet her. Lena closed her eyes.

_I want to live._

Something struck her hard in the chest. A second later, the car embraced the ground. 


	3. Lena

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena wakes up...back in National City.
> 
> I mean, you guys know the rules. If you faint, you go back to your last reset point.  
> (Yes, I'm using video game logic)

**Lena**

Lena woke up with a start, feeling like she got hit by a freight train.

_What the hell?_

Her head pounded with blood. Her vision was marred with black spots. Dread pooled in her stomach and cemented. 

_Did she... just drive off a cliff? Holy shit!_

Lena scrambled to feel her pulse. It was there, strong and steady as ever. She ran a hand through her hair. It was matted with dirt and...was that blood?

Just as quickly as it started, her headache subsided. Her vision cleared. Her palms felt cool against her head. 

"Not dead." Lena exhaled slowly.

A shrill sound echoed around the room, disturbing the calm inside her mind. Lena's hand automatically reached for her phone. Instead, her hand hit a hard, smooth object. She picked it up.

It was as big as her palm, cold and round. A clear milky gem, encased in some kind of metal. It shimmered and glowed slightly. 

Lena's seem this before. A flash... right before she 'died'. The rubble that hit her chest before she reunited with Earth.

_It wasn't a dream?_

_It wasn't a dream..._

Kara.

Her phone was still ringing. 

***

Mornings always seemed to more manageable to Lena. She usually was a little less sleep deprived. She didn't have to deal with sexist douche bags so early.

Today was not that kind of day.

Lena picked up her phone. 'Kara' flashed in big bold letters across her screen.

Lena stared at the tiny rectangle, like she could make it disappear through sheer force of will. Hoping it would take her with it. The few seconds it took for the phone to shut up felt like eternity. 

Lena exhaled slowly. She can do this, one thing at a time. Stand up. Walk across. Dress yourself. Everything she did was in autopilot. She turned off her phone. She forced down two spoonfuls of cereal before her throat closed up.

Her ears rang. She turned on the news so she can hear something. Anything. She blasted water against her skin so hot it almost peeled away. 

Nothing filled the hollowness inside her. 

Eventually, she ran out of things to do. She picked up her phone. Countless calls from Kara and Alex. A few from work. She paused. Her screen blinked.

Friday? Lena could've sworn it was Wednesday. Unless... has she been out for two days?! Where the hell has she been? Lena exhaled again. Her finger hovered over Alex's name.

She can deal with this, right? She is stronger than this. She just has to shove everything as far as it can go and forget it ever happened. She _can't_ be this weak. Can. Not. The Luthors would _never_ approve of her being so weak. So... pathetic. 

_You're pathetic, Lena._

She pressed down hard on Alex's name.

"...Lena?"

"..."

"Lena? Are you there? Please tell me you're alright."

"...Hello, Alex."

"Lena! Thank god. Kara told me about- I-I thought you- Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I-I don't-"

Kara's voice shrieked. "Lena! Are you alright?! I was so worried! They found your car at the bottom of the some cliff and after your call I was so worried-"

"I don't want to talk."

"Lena-" 

Lena hung up. A second later, a blur of red and blue landed outside her balcony.

"I said I didn't want to talk, Kara."

"I know. I just- I just wanted to say that I'm very sor-"

"Save your breath. I don't want an apology. I just want you to leave me alone."

"Lena, I'm-"

"You're what, Kara?! A hypocrite?! A liar?!"

"I only did it to protec-"

"A super?"

Kara fell silent.

"You lied to me for years, Kara! Years, and all that time I trusted you! I believed in you."

"You don't understand, Lena! Having a secret identity, sharing a secret identity, it's not safe! You don't know the risks!"

"That didn't stop you from telling James, or Nia!"

"My sister almost _died,_ Lena! Multiple times! Because she was with me!"

"I'm a Luthor! I'm in danger _everyday!_ Every maniac that my family ever crossed, ever hurt, they ALL want me dead!"

"Do you really want anyone _I've_ ever crossed to be added to that list?!"

"No. NO. You've NEVER trusted me. Never. You think I don't see it?! Every time someone hears the Luthor name, they turn away. James, the DEO. You think you're so lonely, being from a different planet! Your people are still alive! You know NOTHING about being alone. Nothing about being manipulated! Feeling like an outsider in your own house. In your own family. I can keep myself safe. Like I have for years. And now, I don't need you. Or anyone else."

"Lena-"

"Just LEAVE, Kara."

Lena turned around, blinking back the tears. A whoosh of air told her that the super was gone. 

Fresh waves of tears rolled down Lena's cheek. She clenched her phone in her palm. 

_Why didn't you stay?_

Lena flung the phone against the balcony, the rage in her finally peaking. 

It pierced through the glass, flew across the highway and embedded itself a hundred feet away, on the walls of the opposite building. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, its rather short, but. I have a few things to say. First up, this fic was inspired but Plasticpipes on DeviantArt. Check out their art, it's awesome!
> 
> Second, do you guys wanna see a Jason/Billy? Let me know through the comments.
> 
> Next up, Lena goes back to Angel Grove to seek out some answers.


	4. Lena

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I can't stop writing Lena's POV. Sue me.

**Lena**

Lena stared at the shattered glass in surprise. 

_What in the..._

The coin she clenched in her other fist flared warm. It shimmered with a strange sort of energy, glowing silver. Lena yelped and dropped it. 

"Holy... What the hell?"

It stopped shimmering the second it was out of Lena's hand, like a switch was flipped. She picked it up again. It pulsated softly, covered in a sheen of milky light. Lena looked back out the window. Her phone was still embedded an inch deep into the concrete across the street. Was she still dreaming? Is this some sort of alternate reality? It wouldn't be the first time.

Lena spun around, her eyes sweeping her apartment for anything out of place. Everything was in it's place. No one burst in trying to kill her. There wasn't any bombs in her kitchen. Even her waste bin was empty. Everything was so _normal._ But why? She should be dead. Broken back, strangled by her own seat belt, crushed by her own car dead.

Except she wasn't. She was confused and disoriented, but still with an extreme case of aliveness. 

Lena pulled out her laptop from her desk. She didn't like being in the dark(No shit). When in doubt, time for research.

***  
  


Her probe into Angel Grove revealed no secrets. The cliff she was at was on top of a mine for rare metals, which was shut down after the terrain got too uncertain. The town was built by early mine settlers, who stayed after the mines closed in favor of the prime fishing zones near the port. There were a few fisheries on the northern end of the town. She did find out that there was (surprise surprise!) a Luthor townhouse a few miles west of the town. Since there were about six Luthor houses within half a day 's travel to National City, this wasn't really much of a surprise.

Lena threw aside her laptop in distaste. Honestly, what was she expecting to find? Mysterious amulet saves the day? Magical cliff saves jumper? 

There was only one way to find out. She had to go back to the cliff. Whatever happened there that night, whatever gave her powers, it has to be there, right?

Shame about the car, it was her favorite. 

***

The drive back to Angel Grove was _very_ different from the first. For one, she was not half blind with tears. She could actually see the small houses dotted between trees and farmland. The town itself was quiet and sleepy. 

Lena drove past the town straight to the mine. Now that there was actually sunlight, she could see the sign that said 'CASCADIA GOLD MINE - NO ENTRY' written across the gates. Lena slowed down. Shit. Lena might be screwed over by everyone in her life, but she swore she'd never get on the wrong side of the law after Lex and Lillian. Besides, she could name more then a few people who'd be willing to put the last Luthor in jail if she ever got a parking ticket. She was _not_ breaking the law twice in a week. 

She got out the car to make a few short calls. Thirty minutes later, the deed was transferred to L-corp. 

Buying the mine was a lot faster then getting permission orders, honestly.

Lena made her way to the cliff. It was taped off buy the police, but there was no one around. She parked her car a little away from the tape and made her way down the cliff. Her car, or what's left of it anyway, was also lined off behind yellow tape. 

Lena turned away from the mess. It was barely a pile of crushed scrap metal. No way Lena survived that fall. No. Way. She should not be here. She should be dead. She-She should get the _hell_ away from here.

Lena slipped her hand over the coin instinctively. It was glowing a lot brighter now. It seemed to almost _tug_ her along. It slipped out of her fingers and hovered directly in front of her. 

_What the...?_

Lena made a grab for it. It dodged her hand and flew just out of reach again. Lena made another grab for it. It evaded her hand like it knew what she was thinking.

Oh,you're on.

It led her back up the cliff, and then away from it. She followed it until they reached a chasm at least two hundred feet across. It stopped at the edge of the ravine, almost making her fall over. Lena reached for it slowly, tipping around the edge of the ravine. Her fingers wrapped around the coin. 

"Gotcha!" 

She felt it before it happened. A feeling that something was gonna go horribly,terribly wrong. The coin didn't move easy, and the second she wrapped her whole hand around it, it gave a hard jerk. Lena's footing slipped. Suddenly all she could feel was the air whooshing around her, her limbs flailing uselessly at her sides. A shrill sound echoed around her, and it took a second for Lena to realize it was coming from her.

A crappy feeling of deja vu hit her. She was falling, and the darkness was all around her. 

_Again._

***

Lena was _not_ expecting water. For a second, she didn't know which was was up, which way was down. Panic filled her head. Panic filled her head. She swan frantically towards what she hoped was the surface. 

A second later, her head broke the surface. She gasped in large amounts of air. Sunlight shone above her, but there was also another source of life... below her. 

There was something below the water. Lena took in a large gulp of air before swimming towards it. There was some sort of a screen below her. It parted easily around her hand. She realized it was air. She was feeling air.

It was another surface.

Lena pushed herself through. She was hit with the strangest sensation. All her blood flew to her head. She felt a pull to the ceiling. It was almost like...she was upside down.

Ow! 

She landed with a hard thud at the-what? ground? ceiling? Australia? Lena had no idea. The little cave she landed in made pretty bad landing. She rose to her feet and shook of the water. Damn. Where the hell was she?

She followed the cave system around a corner. It widened into a larger underground cavern with weird metal carvings and strange shapes. 

"What in the world...?" 

Lena stepped forward, her steps making a hollow clacking sound that echoed all around her. There was some sort of weird hallway that led deeper into the...thing. It was full of weird machines and wires running into everywhere from everywhere. She had no idea how this thing functioned, or what this thing _was._ She resisted the urge to dismantle everything and take a look inside. 

Multiple archways led her into what seemed to be the main room. There was a dark hole in the middle of the room. The second she walked in, a cacophony of machines booted and whirled. The room shifted, with the round hollow in the middle shifting and a small platform ascended from it's depths to join the five other platforms. 

"Ah! You're here."

Lena swung around, the voice making her heart jump. 

"I see the silver seat has ascended. Do you have the coin?"

A weird round robot waddled into the room. It's head was massive and it looked more like a Pokemon than a robot.

"Who are you?"

"Alpha Five, Of course!" 

"Alpha- what?"

"Ah! There's your coin. Good, now stay right there for a few more hours! The rest of the Rangers will be here...soon, I hope!"

"Where is here, exactly?"

"Ah yes! This is the Ranger ship! This will be where you will be training for your battles!"

"Battles?!"

"Yes! You will be a hailed as a great superhe-"

"No! No, no, no. Superhero? I-I am _not_ a superhero!"

"You do have the Ranger Coin, yes?"

"What? Do you mean this?"

"Yes, yes! Now where was I? Ah! A great superhero who-"

"Okay, you know what? I have to go. I'm sure you and your Rangers can deal with whatever this is." 

"Yes, but you're a Ranger too. What did you say your name was again?"

Lena hesitated. Normally she had no problem owning the Luthor name, but she did not trust this weird robot.

"Kieran."

"Kieran, of course! Now, Kieran, being a Ranger comes with great responsibilities! You have to reme-"

"Look, Alpha Five, just take this coin back. I don't want anything to do with this."

"Oh, but the coin chose _you._ There is nothing you can do now. This is your destiny! You will be one of the greatest heroes-"

"I AM NOT A HERO!" Lena inhaled sharply. She didn't mean to lose her temper.

"I am not a hero. I never was, and I have no intention of becoming one. There is nothing heroic about me." Lena set down her coin harshly on the floor. "Your coin chose wrong. Good bye, Alpha Five."

"You cannot escape your destiny, Kieran."

Lena paused, her mouth open, words stuck on the tip of her tongue, before she turned on her heel and walked right out of there. 


	5. Trini

**Trini**

Trini and the others frantically hurried over to the car. 

"Oh my god! Is there anyone in there?"

Jason moved aside the rubble to reveal the empty seats. Trini left out a gasp of relief. She could've sworn she heard a scream, but it probably was the wind. Billy squinted at the top of the cliff.

"Did some just try to kill us?"

"I don't know, man.I'm getting up there." Kimberly started scaling the wall. 

"I'll check to see if there's anything here to identify the owner."

"I'm going with Kim. Careful around the tank, it might explode." Trini grabbed the ledge and hoisted herself up. 

With her superhuman strength, it took barely a minute to get to the top. Kimberly was knocking around a few rocks, but there was obviously nothing around.

"See anyone?"

"No, whoever it was, they're gone now."

"Or were never here in the first place."

Kimberly let out a very exasperated sigh.

"So a car just yeeted itself off a cliff, Kim."

The taller girl cracked a smile. "Yeah, looks like it. Do you think anyone knew we were down there?"

"I don't know. We weren't exactly trying our best to hide ourselves. Come on, we gotta clean up and get the hell out of here. The mine patrol probably heard the explosion."

The five made quick work of their camping supplies, and got out of there in a nick of time. They had covered up the way to get to the spaceship, and only fools with jump without knowing into the water entrance. 

"What about the Ranger coin?"

Jason shook his head. "Zack, Billy and I looked around. Wherever it was, it's gone now."

"It won't reveal itself to just anyone, guys. We'll track it down." Zack nodded confidently. "Remember when we found ours?" 

"Yeah. I remember getting chased out by the mine patrol. Can we get out of here now?"

"Hey, come to my place! My mom would love to meet you guys again!" Zack suggested eagerly. A chorus of affirmatives rang out. Zack let out a whoop and dashed forward ahead of everyone else.

Trini let out a laugh. "Dork."

***

Trini got back home at around six p.m. the next day. It was a Saturday, and she had spent all day with her friends helping rebuild the last of the structures that were knocked down during their battle against Goldar.

She opened the front door as quietly as she could. It was decently early, but she really didn't want to risk alerting her mother. Her mother who seemed to hate everything she did. Fortunately, her mother seemed to be nowhere around, so she bolted for the stairs. At the landing, she found her Dad's study open. She knocked gently against the door.

Her relationship with her father had improved tremendously after they spent a bunch of time repairing their shed. He even met her friends once, and seemed to like them alright. It wasn't the best, but it wasn't as bad as her mother. 

"Come on in."

Trini pushed the door aside.

"Hey Dad. I just wanted to let you know I'm back. I'll be in my room if you need me."

"Hey, honey. Are you alright?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. I'll holler if I need you."

Her brothers were in their room, playing with their 'Action Figures'. Excited yells and bangs and all kinds of noises originated from their room. 

Trini chuckled. Before she met the Rangers, her brothers were the only reason that kept her sane. She owed them a lot, though they might not know it.

She entered her room, grabbed her phone and plugged in her headset. Her mother would be back soon, and Trini's gotta face her at dinner. Might as well enjoy her time before that.

***

"Where have you been?!" Her mom demanded. They were seated in the table, and Trini knew the questions were coming.

"June!" Her father cautioned.

"Where have you been, Trini?"

Trini nodded at her dad. "Dad it's okay. I've been at the shelter, volunteering to rebuild the library. With my friends."

"Friends? You mean Jason Scott and-and Kimberly Hart?!"

"June!"

"They're delinquents! You too! You're in detention every other day, you spend all day with people like Scott and you're NEVER at home!"

"You've never even met them! They're the most real people in my life and they like me for who I am!" 

"Who you are?! I am your mother! I know who you are better then anyone! I dont know what went wrong-"

"June!" Her father interrupted her.

"Went wrong?"

The table grew quiet.

"How'd the drug test come back?" Trini asked quietly. 

Her mother opened her, apparently struggling to say something.

"That's what I thought. Now if you'll excuse me, I've lost my appetite."

Trini was almost at the door when her mother's voice exploded one more time.

"God! What can't you just be _normal_?"

"June! That's enough!" Her father roared.

"She's a freak, Eric!"

Trini slammed her door close and jumped out of her window. A twinge of guilt nagged at her heart for leaving her brothers there. She didn't want them growing up around this, but it was too late now. 

_Freak._

_Of Course._

Trini took off running the second her feet hit the pavement. Past all the stores and the houses. She knew exactly where her feet was taking her. Rage boiled in her eyes.

_Freak._

Trini didn't fit in. She wasn't normal. She...she was crazy.

_Freak._

Trini doesn't need to fit in. She knew that now. She just wished her mother would.

_Freak._

Is that all she was to her mother? An obligation? 

She scaled the mountain easily, with practiced steps up to her rock. It was her place. She loved it up there. Every sunrise, the sky will be a delightful disarray of oranges, yellows and pinks. The wind will rush through her clothes; and if she closed her eyes, it almost imagine herself flying. Her headphones blasted music at full volume, drowning out the wind and the birds and even her own thoughts. 

It was freeing.

It was her place. 

Currently Trini sat down, her feet dangling off the cliff's edge. She buried her head in her hands. It felt cool. Comforting. She felt herself slipping away from the world, trapped in her mind, with only memories for company. She played every argument over and over in her head. It was torture. 

A warm touch to her shoulder's brought her out of her reverie. 

"Hey, Tee."

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a flash of pink plopping down next to her.

"Hey, Kim."

The sat in silence for a bit. 

"How'd you find me?"

"Zack."

Trini smiled. Zack might act all big and strong but he was the heart of the group. 

Kim turned to her. "You know I'm here for you, right?"

"Yeah."

Kim laid down on her back. A moment later, Trini did the same.

"Thank you." she whispered softly. Kim hummed in response.

Trini rubbed her eyes and got up. "C'mon. Let's go keep Zack company." She extended her hand towards the taller girl. Kim stared at her for a few seconds, and then placed her hand in Trini's. Trini helped her up.

Kim tugged at her hand, causing Trini to fall into her. She wrapped her hands around the yellow ranger in a warm embrace. Trini awkwardly put her hand around Kim. Trini inhaled deeply. The smell of cherries invaded her. Trini melted into the embrace.

All too soon, Kim pulled away. They were still standing so close. She rested her forehead against Kim's. 

"We're gonna be okay."

***

They spent all of Sunday morning at the Krispy Kreme and the mine. Jason and Trini landed part time jobs at the Krispy Kreme, which worked out since they can always keep an eye on the Zeo crystal and make some money off of it at the same time. Zack had to keep an eye on his mother, and Kim volunteered to help him. Billy spent his time at the spaceship, learning all he could about the Rangers and their powers. Every other day, they gathered at the ship for training. In their spare time they helped with rebuilding the town and fighting monsters and aliens. It was a comfortable routine that they had formed over many weeks. 

Around two p.m., Billy spammed their phones with texts, urging them to get to the ship pronto. Jason freaked out, causing the rest of them to freak out, and they ran for the spaceship. 

"Hey, Billy! Are you here?!"

"Billy!"

"Guys, over here!"

They headed into the central room, where Billy was freaking out.

"One, two, three, four...no, no, no, no, no. Am I the only one who's seeing this?"

"Uhhh, Alpha Five?"

"Why are there six pedestals?!" 

"Alphaaa Fi-ve!"

The robot waddled into the room from one of the many hallways that led into god-knows-where.

"Yes, yes. Welcome back, Rangers. Had a nice day?"

"Yeah, about that. What happened while we were gone!"

Alpha Five looked around the room. 

"Ah yes. Zordon?"

Their friend in the wall light up. 

"Alpha Five had a little visit from the sixth ranger."

"The what?"

"Yes, yes. The coin that escaped on Friday. It has bonded to the new ranger!"

Zack looked at Alpha Five in surprise. "Wait. The sixth ranger was here? How did they even find this place?"

"The coin led them here, of course. Just like yours did."

"And...?"

"What do you mean and?"

"Where's the sixth ranger?"

"Oh, she left."

Jason stared at him. "Okay, well, who is she? Do we know her?"

"She called herself Kieran."

They all looked at each other. 

"None of us know a Kieran. What did she look like?"

"Human."

Kim facepalmed.

"Could you be a bit more specific?" Jason asked.

"Would you like to know her gene sequence?."

"Uh, definitely not."

"What _can_ you tell us?" Zack interrupted.

"She's the sixth Ranger!"

"Oh god, this is gonna take a while."

Since Zordon was busy 'cleaning out his back-updrives' which was apparently ' a delicate and time consuming process', they only had Alpha Five's account of what things happened. Eventually they figured out that she had pale skin, had grey-ish eyes and seriously needed water and sleep. Her name was Kieran and she seemed to be around their age. Alpha Five also told them that she had the white ranger coin. 

"Rangers! The sixth will join you soon enough. The coins will bring you together." Zordon boomed. 

"Yes, about that. She objected rather strenuously. She does not want to be a superhero."

Kim let out a groan of frustration. "Great. She probably does want to be found."

"Jason, what do you think?" All the eyes turned to the leader. Jason furrowed his eyebrows in concentration.

"I trust the grid. It brought us together. I'm confident it'll choose the best person for the job."

They nodded. Of course someone would have reservations putting their lives on risk everyday. You have to be ready to sacrifice a lot to be a Ranger. If it takes a little persuasion for Kieran to join their cause, then that's what they'll do, right?

Oh boy, were they wrong.


	6. Lena

**Lena**

Lena drove around town for a while, deep in thought. She was still fuming after that conversation with that stupid chicken robot.

A _superhero_. Lena can never be a superhero. It's not like it was for the lack of trying, but it has been proven again and again. A Luthor cannot be a hero. The best they can be is sorry. Or evil.

Toxic thought whirled through her head, and she tried her best to ignore them.

_Little boxes._

Her hunger was the one to snap her out of it. She drove around town looking for a diner or a Burger King's or something. A flash of Red and the smell of fresh baked bread brought her to a Krispy Kreme. Donuts were her comfort food. 

The shop was filled to the brim with teenagers hanging out during the weekend and people grabbing pastries before they get to work. Lena passed a gaggle of girls in the corner, staring at everyone who entered and whispering excitedly between themselves. Everyone seemed to know everyone. Every now and then, the table to the left burst into raucous laughter. The smell of chocolate and cinnamon filled the air.

Lena bought her favorites to go. The tables were full and she really didn't feel like talking to people. She walked out into the crisp sunlight. It was warm against her skin, but she didn't feel the sunlight at all.

She reached into the bag for her donuts, her fingers closing around the round, cool ....metal? It was her Ranger coin. She stared at it in exasperation. Rage filled her in a short burst. 

"Leave me alone!" She threw it out her window, but it stopped falling the second it left her hand and shot back into her hand. 

"Oh my god! I said I don't WANT-" Lena paused mid sentence. She had crushed the door handle in her anger. The coin was shining in her palms. She can almost imagine it taunting her. She considered the coin in her hand curiously. 

She needed her lab. Lena turned around and hastily drove back to the highway. The coin was still glittering the seat next to her. 

Her mind was whirling. She has superhuman strength, didn't she? What if this was it? The key to her Harun-El Human Enhancement Project? If she could isolate the spark that gave her powers, she might be able to replicate it!

Possibilities chased each other through her mind. She was at the city limits now. The sign was about twenty feet, fifteen, five.

Lena slammed her foot down. Her car jolted to a stop. The coin had stopped glowing.

She pulled over near the sign and got out, clutching it in her hand.

"Are you kidding me?!"

She retraced her steps back into the town. 

There. The second she stepped foot back in Angel Grove, the gem lit up like a beacon. When she crossed out of Angel Grove, the light withered away. 

She stared at the coin in annoyance. "So you glow only in Angel Grove now?!"

The coin didn't reply. She slipped it back into her pocket.

She grumpily stomped back to her car, turning it around and driving it back to Angel Grove. She brainstormed all the way back to Angel Grove, past the mines and to the nearest Luthor house. She made mental to-do lists. If she wanted to harness the coins power, she will need her Harun-El lab. Which was currently in her building in National City. She will need also need a suitable space for her lab here, but the Luthor mansion probably had one.

Her mind churned out a hundred ideas before she got to the house. What if the coin's powers came from the spaceship? Is there something else in the mines? Lena needed to run some tests on the soil, see how it interacts with elements. Her fingers itched to hold a microscope. She fidgeted in her seat, momentarily forgetting all that the world has throw at her the last few days.

She pulled up into the driveway. The lawns were mowed, the shrubbery was trimmed, the grass was heavy with dew. It was extremely well kept, like all the other mansions that her family owned. But something about the place was cold, empty.

Lena walked into the lobby. It wasn't as big as the other mansions that she's seen; but it was more then enough for her and maybe even a dozen more. 

She entered the basement. It was spacious, but the walls were peeling and the whole place was barely visible under an inch of dirt. It was filled with outdated equipment. Lena walked around, testing the walls and looking for anything out of place. She hit her head on cobwebs multiple times, and a cloud of dust originated from everywhere around her. 

She found a recorder and a stack of notes and pen-drives in a box. All of them were labeled 'Lexosuit - Beta 2.56A80.' It was filled with Lex's observations and notes an parts. It looked abandoned, and it dated a decade ago.

_What were you doing here, Lex?_

Lena pushed those away, out of sight. She didn't have much of a use for his notes, but the parts may come in handy. She could use it to test her newfound powers. 

She eyed the room. Lena knew Lex better than anyone. Better than himself. Everything was a game of chess to him. And if Lex really was here... Lena moved to a piece of tapestry. She ran her hands over the wall behind it. A small button underneath the designs. She pushed it. Bingo.

"Ow!" 

It nicked her! She withdrew her hand, and examined it. It was a pretty clean cut, drawing a drop of blood from her finger. 

_'Luthor DNA detected. Welcome, Miss Luthor.'_ a robotic voice echoed from behind the wall. 

The wall in front of her shifted, to reveal a secret passage underneath the mansion. Air hissed sharply through the walls and on top of Lena. The passage branched off to two sides. Lena followed the left one, which sloped down deeper down.

_What have you got here, Lex?_

The passage went on a hundred feet into the Earth, underneath the mansion. At the end of the hallway, a lone table with a biometric lock. Lena peered at the small rectangle. A beeped echoed from above her. It scanned her iris. 

_"Hello, Lena."_

Lena staggered back. Lex. It took a second for her to realize that it was only a recording.

_"I honesty can't imagine you ever coming here. But if, for some reason, you happen upon this place, I have left a present for you. If this is you, mother, you can go screw yourself. And leave Lena alone."_

A door opened out of nowhere. Lena stepped through it.

_Holy...._

It was a room, full of all sorts of equipment and metal pieces. Lexosuits in various levels of development hung in various stands around the room. A wall of monitors hung in the back of the room. But the worst part of the place were the cells. Everything was tinged with green. The tools. The floor. The cells. 

Kryptonite. 

Lena stared at it in absolute horror.

How many people were imprisoned here?! Where did he _get_ all this Kryptonite?! 

The biggest cell was marked for Superman. The walls were covered in countless photos of him. Hundreds of little markings on the walls. Thousands of Lex's maniac musings written all around the room.

The next cell had 'Supergirl' written across it in a dark red color. 

Lena gasped. 

This wasn't a lab. This was a dungeon.

Lena stumbled back. Her throat went dry. She turned away from it in disgust. Every psychopathic thing Lex' ever done, every time she saw proof of his mania, it was a fresh slap to Lena's face. A new wave of guilt. More evidence that the Luthor name can _never_ be redeemed, no matter how much Lena tried. 

She staggered back into the hallway, biting her inner cheeks to prevent herself from breaking down. 

_Little boxes, Lena. Little. Boxes._

She took a deep breath once she was back in the basement and sealed the door again. She's never going back there. 

***

Lena stepped outside into the lawn. The mansion itself was pretty generic, if you don't mind the super dungeon in the basement. She can't ignore it. She felt responsible. She cannot help but think that if she'd been a better sister, if she'd noticed him going awry; she could've prevented all of this. Instead she lived with two different psychopaths who have killed hundreds with even flinching. Hell, Lex and her mother were the only people she had ever loved. Before she moved to National City.

Her mother, who Lena killed left to die.

Guilt left a bitter taste in her mouth.

_Boxes._

Lena spent all morning organizing for her move to Angel Grove. She called her board to inform them about her decision. She arranged for people to move her stuff out from her loft. She hired cleaners for the mansion. Save for a few things she had to do in person, she'll be out of National City withing three days. 

She drove out to the local school late in the evening. Lena had skipped three years of schooling, opting to act as advocate for Luthor-corp. Lillian had trained Lena for a young age to take over the Luthor Company legally when she turns eighteen. Currently, it was under management of the board and her CFO, Samantha Arias. Lena still made most of the important decisions, just in the name of her board of directors. 

Instead, Lena spent most of her schooling years tailing Lillian at Luthor-corp, taking private high school/college classes and making connections amongst the rich and the richer. By the time she was sixteen, she had finished most of her high school classes and around half of college classes in three years. Her last year was dedicated purely to L-corp and research and...well, Supergirl.

Anyways, the point is Lena needed enough credit to pass high school this year, and then move to Massachusetts to get into MIT. The only thing standing in her way were her attendance scores. The last school she was in almost kicked her out after she accidentally helped to invade the Earth and destroyed the science wing in the process. The teachers hated her Luthor name. They would do anything to get petty revenge on the last Luthor. it was part of the reason Lena wanted to redeem the name. 

Fortunately, It was extremely easy to get into the school. The principal was almost giddy after her generous donations to the computer department. The secretary didn't seem as pleased, but she wasn't at the top of the food chain. 

The sky had started to darken by the time Lena made it out of the building. She clutched her papers tightly, and pulled her coat closer. It started to drizzle and her breath formed mists before her nose. She collapsed into her car, and inhaled a shaky breath. 

_Little Boxes._


	7. Alex and Trini

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oooh, what's this?? Alex's POV?
> 
> Also my girl Sam is here because she was one of THE best characters and never should've been written out.

**Alex**

Alex crashed through the door into Kara's little loft, strode across the room and pulled the little blonde ball curled up on the couch into a fierce hug. Kara sniveled against her shirt. She shook very slightly against Alex's slender frame. Suddenly, she seemed so small, so vulnerable. Alex wanted to shield her from the whole world. 

"Hey, what happened? Are you alright?"

Kara pulled back, tears coating her cheeks. She seemed shrunken, quivering. Dimmer. 

"She-she's gone, Alex. I went to her penthouse. Her office. It's like she was never there."

"Hey, hey. It's gonna be alright. We can work through this, okay? We'll figure it out."

"N-No, Alex. You didn't see her. You didn't see her eyes. She was so _hurt._ I'm such a horrible person- I-"

"Shh. You're not a horrible person. You just made a mistake."

"I _hurt_ her. I did that. I knew what I was doing, an-and I should've told her sooner, and now she hates me!"

Alex could only pat her head. Kara shook against her slightly, her head down. She clutched Alex and her pillow like it was her life force. 

They stayed like that for a while. Eventually Kara moved away and sat up on her couch. Her eyes were red and puffy. Alex brought her a glass of water and some tissues. Her sister nodded sadly. A few minutes later, the bell rang. Alex moved to open the door. Alex glimpsed a familiar face and a cascade of chocolate brown hair.

"Sam?"

"Hey, Alex. Kara." Sam smiled tiredly from the doorway. "Can we talk?"

"I don't think now is a goo-"

"It's about Lena."

"Oh. Um, come right in. Sorry about the mess, it's been a frantic couple days."

Sam stepped through the door.

"Hey, Kara."

"Sam." Kara smiled weakly. "Nice to see you again."

"You look terrible."

"Gee, thanks."

Sam sighed and turned around. "So I guess you guys already know Lena's moving away?"

Alex and Kara nodded. "Yeah."

"So it's true."

"What?"

"Lena told me everything. About Kara being...Supergirl. And you. You work for the DEO?"

"Not anymore, I guess."

Sam sat down on the couch. 

"Do you know where she is?" Alex asked.

Sam shook her head. "No, she didn't tell me anything, but I know how to find out."

"Okay. Can we-"

"Before that. I need to tell you guys something." Sam's brown eyes were suddenly glittered with fierce concern. 

"What is it?"

Sam exhaled slowly, and then walked up to Alex.

"Look, I've know Lena for six years now. When I first met her, she was so tiny. She was barely twelve, and so strong. Lillian was already pushing her to be the next CEO. She was the one who found me. I was only an intern back then. You have no idea about how she was back then."

Sam closed her eyes.

"She lived with Lillian. I saw, everyday, all the things she had to do. She was so desperate to feel validated by the Luthors. It took her years to break out of that. God, she used to be so scared of Lillian." Sam gave a harsh laugh. "I can't imagine her being so afraid now. Around that time, Lex was in Metropolis."

"Waging his war against Superman?"

"Yeah. That was when the death threats started. Lillian went underground with her C.A.D.M.U.S. project. Lena was left alone to deal with the press and the Board. And then suddenly, it wasn't just threats anymore. There were public shootings at press meets. Luthor-corp buildings burned down. Someone even put snakes in her school locker. You should've seen her. I have no idea how she lasted even a day. Her testifying against Lex made no difference."

"Part of the reason she moved to National City was that. The threats. The hatred. Half of the board in Metropolis hated having a fifteen year old CEO in all sense but legally. They were so bitter. But with Lillian backing every decision Lena made, their hands were tied."

"Why would Lillian back her decisions?"

"Lena was still under her control. It was all the power with no responsibilities. Lena was such a natural at the job, too. She dealt with all of it with pride. Every time someone took a stab at her, every time Lex blew up a building, she came out stronger. She vowed to remake Luthor-corp in the name of good."

"But the other reason she moved to National City was for you, Supergirl. When she heard that the cousin of Superman was protecting this city, she was so excited. She moved here, determined to help the city. She wanted the world to see that a Luthor and a Super could co-exist without chaos. No, she wanted to prove to _herself_ that a Luthor can do good."

"Sam, I-"

Sam held up a hand. 

"When I moved here, almost a year later, I saw how she had changed. Because of you, Kara."

"Me?"

"Yeah. She wasn't so cold anymore. She seemed happy. Remember that day, in my office? Shortly after I first met you? You were there with Lena. I was late to work after Ruby's game and-"

"Lena and I invited you to game night."

Sam laughed. "You did. My point is, she made friends. With you guys. With James and J'onn. You meant a lot more to her than I can ever say. Before you, her definition of family was Lillian. When she called you guys her family, when she let down all her walls and laughed, and shared her whole world with you, you became her center. Her universe. The people she trusted. The people who loved her."

 _Her people._

Sam exhaled again. "And then she found out your secret in the worst way possible. You broke her, Kara. You broke her trust. You gave her hope, and then you took it away. Along with any strength that she had left."

Sam crossed over to Kara. 

"I can't let you talk to her. Not until you promise me that you'll _never_ hurt her again. Because she maybe be stronger than all of us put together, but she's still a the same child that I took under my care when she was twelve. I'd rather not have her heart broken again."

Kara nodded and stood up. "I promise. I will always be there for her, even if she hates me. I will always protect her. Even from myself. Sam... please help me fix this?" Kara extended her hand.

Sam eyed her for a few seconds, and then huffed. "You guys are the best thing that has ever happened to her. Even after all of this. If you ever hurt her again, you have me to deal with." Sam shook Kara's hand. Alex crossed the room to them.

"I will do everything in my power to protect her. I promise." Alex smiled. "Glad to have you back, Sam."

The three hugged. 

Sam broke apart first. "On a related hand, I can do this now."

Alex watched with utter surprise as Sam hovered a few feet of the ground. 

"When I meant you have me to deal with, I really meant it Kara." Sam stated dryly. 

"You're still Kryptonian?!"

***

**Trini**

For the past couple of days, things have almost been quiet. No one named Kieran was at their school, no metal monster tried to kill them, no zombie apocalypse occurred. The reconstruction of the town was well underway. They staked out the spaceship entrance in shifts after school, but their efforts remained futile. On Wednesday morning, they met in the school parking lot as planned. Even Zack, who had started coming to school way more often then he used to. 

Trini's day was perfectly normal until art class. Jason and her were walking to their classes together, when she noticed a gaggle of sophomores gesturing and talking rather aggressively. Trini eyed them apprehensively.

"What's got all the freshmen in a bunch?" Trini mused.

"I don't know. Hey, listen. Billy and I got together last night-"

"What?! You finally made a move?"

"Not like that. We made a tracker thingy for the ranger coin. Well he made it, I just brought him snacks and watched him work. He did this thing-"

"Speed it up, Jay, class is starting."

"Yeah, right. Anyway, he should be finishing it today. We'll turn it on after school, meet at the parking lot. This is me." Jason stopped at his classroom. 

"Okay. I'm next door. See you after class."

"See you."

Trini walked into her classroom, dodging several airborne paper balls. She had Art, which would've been awesome if it wasn't just before lunch. The teacher hadn't arrived yet, and the teenagers fretted around the class room in unrest. She picked a seat near the back of the classroom and pulled out her sketchbook.

Trini liked Art. She loved how all the colors come together to form a perfect harmony. The way it can capture a feeling. The ever-constant need to get better. It made her feel connected to people, even if she was nothing like them. Her sketchbook was filled with her friends and sunsets and random things that caught her eye. She doodled on a corner while she waited for her Art teacher to arrived. Random pieces of gossip were thrown back and forth around her. 

"I heard Amanda invited her..."

"God, I bet she's stuck up and horrible. How dare she..."

Trini resisted the urge to yell at them to shut up. Fortunately, the teacher chose that moment to enter the room. The crowd in front of her disappeared faster than Trini could eat a fry. She rolled her eyes, before noticing the teacher. 

"Oh fuck." Trini muttered under her breath.

It was a sub. The teacher introduced himself with a name Trini didn't care to remember and promptly started napping in the corner. The crowd gathered in front of Trini's desk again.

_Oh boy, this is gonna be a long class._

***

Trini was so relieved when the lunch bell rang. She wouldn't have lasted one more minute listening to Rebecca talk. She almost collided into Jason trying to get away from her. 

"Woah there. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, let's go. I'm hungry."

Jason shrugged and walked away to the cafeteria. 

Kim and Zack were already sitting at their usual table. Billy entered, completely engrossed with a little device in his hands. Jason steered him to their table before he tripped over a stray bag. Zack fished out some PB&Js fom Billy' bag.

"Score!"

Kim rolled her eyes and then stole a piece off of Zack.

"Hey!"

"It worked!" Billy exclaimed. The machine blinked red. 

"Huh?"

The table next to them erupted into hysterical laughter. 

"The ranger coin tracker. I've been trying to track it's signature using the morphing grid. The red means the coin is nearby. If I can just-" He stopped mid-sentence and continued tinkering with his box. 

"Ow!" The box gave out sparks and the light died.

"Okay, maybe it needs a little more work." Billy concurred. "I'll work on it. I think I can get it working before school ends."

"Eat, Billy." Zack handed him a sandwich. 

"Thanks, Zack. I just have too..." Billy trailed off, still obsessing over then little dial in the left. 

Suddenly the door to their left slammed open and Amanda walked out, apparently furious over something, ranting loudly to her friend. The entire cafeteria went quiet. 

"Okay, what the hell is going on?" Kim demanded. 

"New girl. Moved here from National City. Supposedly a heir to a billion dollar company. She turned down Amanda's invitation to sit at her table." Zack mumbled, his words barely comprehensible over all the food stuffed in his mouth.

"How do you know all this?" Jason asked.

"I'm psychic." Zack swallowed and grinned at the red ranger. "Also I heard Henry Gibbs and Colt Wallace talking during English."

Kim raised her eyebrows. 

"I can't help it, I have super powers!"

"Lena Luthor." Billy muttered under his breath.

"Who?"

"Lena Luthor? The child prodigy daughter of the Luthor family? The greatest genius of our generation?"

"Nope."

"No idea what you're talking about."

"Wait, 'Lex Luthor' Lena Luthor?"

"Yeah. She's his sister or something."

"Oh."

Jason shrugged. "As long as nobody steals the Zeo-Crystal?"

"As long as nobody steals the Zeo-Crystal."

***

Half and hour later, Trini walked out of the cafeteria to find a commotion in the hallway. Shouts echoed all around the hallway, and the teachers arrived just as Kim emerged from the door. The crowd dissipated into almost nothing, leaving two guys death-glaring at a girl in the middle. Her long dark hair hid her face, but she seemed pretty angry as she whirled around and stomped away.

"That's her." Zack whispered from behind her.

"Lena Luthor?" Trini asked. 

"No. Well yeah, but look at her bag."

A shrill red beeping sound originated from Billy's device. 

Trini caught one last glimpse of the girl as she rounded the corner. She was carrying a grey-white bag over her shoulder, a circular stone peeking out of the top. 

"Is that the ranger coin?!"


	8. Lena

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that it took so long, I got stuck at a part of this chapter and just had a massive writer's block. I apologize for my shitty schedule.

**Lena**

Lena has dealt with a lot of assholes in her life. Entitled assholes. Sexist assholes. Assholes who underestimated her. Assholes who would unabashedly blame the Luthor name for everything that goes wrong. But at least the douche-bags she met at work had some class. Most of them could be shot down with a withering stare and a few well chosen words. They understand that there are some lines you _do not_ cross. Some lines meant all out war. 

Teenagers were different. Their idea of hurt was crude and their methods were crass. Having been home-schooled for the three years, she had no idea how the silly little pranks middle schoolers pulled evolved into _this._ They had absolutely no qualms. Their intent seemed only to hurt. As cruel as possible. 

Lena's day had started okay. She had gone to school with absolutely no idea about how it works. She _hated_ being out of control, but this was a situation that cannot be helped. It didn't matter anyway. She planned to keep herself out of trouble and spend as little time as possible on school grounds. She still had a lot of research to do. Her lab equipment had finally arrived and Lena had worked overnight to set it up. She locked the creepy passage in the basement and fixed all the lights. It was looking pretty good, but at that point she had been severely sleep deprived and almost passed out. 

She had also bought a new car, not too expensive, but it fit in around the small town and drove decently fast. It drew a lot of attention when she drove it into the parking lot the next day. A mob of freshman dawdled around outside the school, pointing rather obnoxiously at Lena's car. Huh. Maybe it was a lot more expensive than she guessed. 

She parked as far away from everyone as possible, and sauntered over to the office building. The lady at the reception handed her a locker combination, her class schedule and a welcome pamphlet. Lena wasn't too fond of pamphlets, but this one did have a map of the school. Lena stepped out of the office building, a girl sashayed up to her and introduced herself as the head of the Student Body and the Welcoming Committee. Lena declined the girl's offer on showing her the around school politely. The map provided was easy enough to decipher. 

A few hours later, Lena found herself outside the cafeteria, picking out her books for the rest of the day. Her morning had been fine. She had listened intently to every class even though she was miles ahead of everyone. All the teachers had mostly ignored her. A few students did approach her and invited her to sit at their table at lunch, but Lena had rejected their offers too. She avoided the cafeteria during lunch, instead opting to sit in her car. It was tinted, air conditioned and quiet. Honestly, she couldn't picked a better place for some peace and quiet.

Lena stepped out of the car by the end of lunch. She was distractedly rummaging through her bag when a convertible screeched to a halt right next to her. Two boys got out of it, hooting loudly.

"Watch it!" Lena snapped and walked away.

"Fuck off if you don't want to be hit by a car."

Lena pushed down her ire. She had way better things to do then argue with two dimwits. She power-walked back inside the school. Unfortunately, the morons decided to follow her. 

"Hey, I know you."

"Yeah, you're that new girl. The Luthor." Disgust coated the boy's voice heavily.

Lena reached her locker and flung it open. They stopped in front of her, leaning against the wall. 

"High and mighty princess, aren't you?"

Her hand slipped into her bag. Feeling the cool metal in her fingertips made her feel a lot better. 

"Hey! I'm talking to you! ANSWER ME!" he spewed furiously and slammed her locker close. Lena stepped back. Even if she had superpowers now, she had no idea if she could control them. Instead, her fingers closed around her taser.

"You will pay what your brother did to me! For what YOU did!" He shoved into her violently, but Lena didn't even budge. He went crashing to the ground, flailing and catching his friend in the shin. 

"YOU FUCKING BITCH!" Lena stepped away hastily. 

"Yo-You don't even know about it, do you?! Why would you think about the countless lives you and your family RUINED?"

Lena froze. 

"Your little project with the Daxamites KILLED eighteen people from this town!" He stepped up to her face, his face burning with sudden rage. "My father!" 

Her blood pounded in her ears. A distant ringing echoed around her. She couldn't tell if it was in her head, or all around her.

The red sun, the C.A.D.M.U.S. Projects, the Myriad. She had nothing to with those. Even if most of it was due to a Luthor, it wasn't her fault. Not as the Daxamite Invasion was. _She_ failed to see Rhea's motive. _She_ built the portal. _She_ knew Rhea was not human and helped her anyway.

_It was all her fault._

_All her fault._

"Burn in hell, you fucking rat."

"What is going on here?!" Lena staggered back, the voice bringing her out of her daze. She watched as the teacher pointedly berated the boy for yelling in the hallways. The boy looked straight at her, hatred filling his eyes. Lena turned away, acutely aware of all the students surrounding her. She grabbed her bag from the floor and fled the hallway. 

She later found out the boy's name. A week later, his mother woke up to her bills and her mortgage paid off, and her daughter was guaranteed a spot at an decent college.

***

Lena ditched the class after lunch. She was usually one to get rattled that easily, but lately her support system had...well, you know. She usually had Kara or Sam to rant it out with, but Sam was probably in the middle of a meeting or something and Lena didn't want to intrude. 

Intrude. That was a perfect way to describe Lena. She intruded on the Luthor family. On the Danvers' family. She was an intruder at work, at the DEO. The word tugged at her gut as Lena drove towards to her mansion. She just... needed a minute. Instead of getting out, she sat in the driveway. She had made sure that the cleaners and the gardeners moved out the day before. She valued here privacy too much. But, now, the silence, the darkness, the... _loneliness._ It clawed up from deep inside her and sunk into her heart. She felt empty. Cold. And empty. She curled in on herself, feeling very small against the seat. She didn't cry. She didn't rage. She didn't _feel._ She rested her forehead against the steering, wishing she could fall into the Earth.

_Fall, goddammit!_

Eventually, when she looked up again, it was nearly six. She robotically moved indoors, and then realized it was the last place she wanted to be. Grabbing her science kit and her coat, she drove back out to the mine. She wasn't going to be moping around all day. She need to keep her hands busy. Her mind distracted. 

This time, she found the mine faster than ever, and parked a little way off the entrance. She didn't want that robot to know that she was here. She peered into the chasm and hesitated briefly. It was pitch black. 

_Here goes nothing._

Her feet was airborne before she realized. The water slammed into her just as hard as before, but it was warmer now. Brighter. It was all around her. She was glowing a snowy white. Her brows furrowed in confusion.

How was this possible?

Grabbing her science kit from her water proof bag, she scraped some moss and stone from the corners. She also took some glowing water, only to find it stop glowing after it left the pool. 

After she had scrutinized at every dark corner, she dove straight dove and through the ceiling of water. She caught herself before she landed head first against the rocks. The vast spaceship expanded before her. She looked around the hallway, noticing the patterns in the wall where centuries of rock formations had built themselves around the ship. She didn't hear the weird robot anywhere, so she cautiously peeked around the corner. The hallways were lined with machines and panels she had never seen before. 

For a while, she was just Lena, the scientist. 

***

It was a lot darker by the time she got out of the ravine. She had to tear herself away from all the buttons. She was planning for this to be a short trip. Get in, collect samples, get out. And well, she _had_ stuck to it. Mostly. 

She had explored a few hallways that led up, and discovered that one of them led back to the bottom of the mine. It was easily accessible and impossible to find from the other side unless they were looking for it. It was hidden with moss and rocks, and you had to jump over a fifty feet wall to get back in, but that was pretty easy for Lena with her newfound powers. (Actually she over shot and hit her head)

Shaking the rubble from her dark hair, she backed out of the entrance into the mine. Her ears were ringing slightly, but there wasn't any damage to her head. 

"Hello? Who are you?"

Okay, maybe her hearing was still a little banged up, she didn't hear anyone approach her.

She whipped around sharply, stumbling slightly. Her eyes five figures. Some of them looked vaguely familiar. 

"What are you doing here? This place is a restricted area." The shorter girl asked. "You need a written permit from the mine owners."

Lena chuckled dryly. "Who are you, exactly? And what business do you have in this mine?"

The curly-haired boy in the middle stepped forward and held out his hand. "Jason Scott. This is Billy Cranston."

The tall guy winked at her. "Zack Taylor."

"Trini G-"

"Look, I don't need to know all your names. What are you doing here?" Lena snapped.

"None of your business, Lena Luthor." The other girl with the pink t-shirt spoke up. 

Lena tensed at her name. She fixed one steely eye at the tall brunette. 

"Well, you see, it is my business. If you haven't noticed, this mine is currently under new management. As of last week, it has officially passed under L-corp property." Lena straightened up. "As the next CEO of L-corp, I have the right to ask you about your business on my land. If you have nothing to say, I would recommend you leave immediately before I report you for trespassing."

She glared at them witheringly, authority ringing through the air. 

'Zack' coughed into his arm. "Awkward."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The moment you realize all of Lena's problems will be solved if she just got a dog.


	9. Trini

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smaller than usual, I know, but I wanted to squeeze it out for Lena's birthday. Which is today. Oct 24th. So.... Happy Birthday to the best cinnamon bun I've ever seen. Thank you KMcG for bringing her to life (and also for being my queer awakening). #SupercorpEndgame

**Trini**

Trini gaped at the beautiful brunette who had just emerged from the ship. The girl's -Lena Luthor's- eyes glittered with smugness and arrogance. Even standing besides Jason, who was a foot taller than her, and covered in dust and rubble; she was _very_ intimidating. 

Zack tried to break the ice. "Awkward." But, Trini was pretty sure it didn't go over very well to Lena.

"You... own this mine?" Kim asked her, surprise coloring her voice.

"Yes." 

"Okay." She nodded.

Lena's lip twitched. "Now, would you like to educate me on your interest here?" 

Silence filled the air.

" Then I trust you can find your way out of here." Lena pushed past them, rummaging through her bag wile balancing what looked like a cooler. Seeing her leave, Jason snapped out of his surprise.

:Wa-Wait!" he yelled, sprinting after her. "Look."

He pulled out his Ranger coin. 

Kim inhaled sharply. "Jason." She warned. 

He gave them what Trini hoped was an I-got-this expression. 

"I know you have one like this. It led you here, right?"

Lena stared at the palm-sized amulet in Jason's hand. Her own hand slithered into her bag. Her eyes narrowed at him.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She turned away.

Panicking, Trini pulled out her coin from her pocket. "No, wait. Look, I have one too! You must be really confused. We can help you understand it better." Kim jogged up next to her, pulling out her own pink magic charm. Lena bit her lip, evidently considering her options. She brought out her own white coin. 

"Does it do the-"

"Give us superpowers? Yeah!" Zack bounded up to her with a wide smile. "It's cool, right?"

Trini felt the coin leave her hand. It floated above her hand for a second, and then took off to join the others in the middle of the clearing. They all glowed in unison. Trini imagined them almost chattering excitedly between them. A warm glow radiated of the middle. 

Kim grabbed Trini's hand and smiled softly at her. She winked and pulled her towards Lena. 

"Hey. We can help you. Just listen to us. Please." Kim held her other hand out to Lena. 

Trini could see the inner turmoil within Lena. Her eyes flitted warily between Kim and her hand. For a second, it looked like she was about to bolt. Kim nodded hopefully. She closed her eyes for a second. 

"Five minutes. Explain." Lena opened her eyes and snatched her white coin from the air, ignoring Kim's hand. 

"Great! Come on, we have a bonfire at the cliff." Zack scaled the cliff in a few seconds. 

The others followed him up the cliff. Trini pulled Kim into her.

"Baby steps. We'll get through to her." She whispered to Kim. 

"Yeah." Kim smiled at her. 

"You're amazing, you know that?" 

"That's why you love me. Come on, let's see if we can get there before Zack demolishes all the s'mores."

***

A distant rumble echoed around them. The sky was darkening already. They had carved out a few logs from the forest for seats, and the campfire was out in the open. 

"Aw man. Looks like it's gonna rain again." Zack groaned. "So Lena, did I ever tell you about the _last_ time in rained?"

Lena didn't reply. She stared into the fire. Now, seeing her face illuminated against the fire's light, Trini noticed her her eyes were two different colors. She spoke quietly.

"You guys are the Rangers. The ones who fought the gold golem last year."

Jason sputtered out his drink. "What?!"

Lena glared at him, almost in anger. "Don't deny it. I saw the ship. The robot talked about Rangers. And the technology here matches the pictures I found about the giant automaton last year." 

They all fell silent. 

"Well, if you don't plan on telling the trut-" She got up to leave.

"No, wait. We're just- trying to figure out how to tell you about this." Jason deliberated over his words. 

"You are superheroes?" Lena asked them.

"Yes. Well Power Rangers, to be more specific." Billy motioned around them. 

"I'm not calling you that." Lena turned her hands over. "Why does this keep happening to me?"

"What do you mean?" 

"Nothing. So the coins?"

Everybody looked to Billy. "What? Why are you all looking at me? Does this mean I have to explain this?"

You do know the most about this out of all of us, Billy." Kim reasoned. Jason gave him a encouraging look and a thumbs-up.

"Okay... well the Ranger coins are all connected to the morphing grid. The grid is the reason we can morph."

"Morph?"

"Into the Power Suits. You see, at first we couldn't do it, and then I did it once, and then I couldn't, and then I died-"

"Billy."

"Oh right. You can only morph if the Rangers are all connected to each other. Trust each other. The coins give you powers. Strength, speed. Agility. We haven't tested their limits yet."

"The fact is, we are a family. Of superheroes. When the white ranger coin chose you, you became one of us. You can become a superhero-"

"No."

"No?"

"NO. I'm not becoming a superhero. I'm done with all that. I'm not getting involved in this."

"The coin chose you because you _needed_ it the most!"

"Your coin chose _wrong!"_ Lena shrieked. 

"If the coin chose wrong, I won't be able to feel you in the morphing grid!" Zack yelled.

 _WHAT?!_

The Earth rumbled against the sudden silence. Lena turned away, towards the fire once again. 

Trini caught Zack's eye in a panic. She mouthed at him. 'You can feel her?'

He mouthed back. 'Roll with it.' 

Kim noticed their exchange and jumped up. "Yeah! The coin didn't choose wrong with you, Lena. You are the perfect white ranger!"

"What?" Billy said, confused. Jason clapped him on the shoulder. "This is your chance to help the world! You will be a hero!"

"I DON'T WANT TO BE A HERO. I WANT NOTHING TO _DO_ WITH HEROES." Lena's voice broke with her words. 

"WHY ARE YOU SO OPPOSED TO THIS?" Jason thundered.

Lena dropped down back into her log-seat. "I don't see why that is any of your business."

Jason pressed her anyway. "Why would you turn down an opportunity to change the world? You can help so many more people as a Ranger!"

"I'm leaving." Lena walked towards the cliff edge. Jason stood his ground, his eyes fixed at her retreating back.

"I though you were supposed to be the _good_ Luthor." His words reverberated around the fire. Lena paused. Energy crackled in the air. The Earth rumbled louder than ever as Lena turned around with a murderous rage. 

"YOU DON'T KNOW _ANYTHING_ ABOUT ME."

She took one menacing step forward. Her eyes seethed with white-hot anger. 

She opened mouth, on the verge of of saying something else, when the rumbling ascended to a deafening volume. The ground shook, and the Earth split open, swallowing the campfire. 

The air grew dark. Lena backed away from the crack. 

"Did you do this?" Jason questioned her, fear leaking though his voice. 

"No! Do you have Earth-shattering powers?!"

Jason shook his head.

"Guys! Look." Billy motioned towards the cliff edge, where a lone figure was floating in the air. It was shrouded in a green cloak, and mist rolled of it in waves. 

It raised two pale hands and revealed it's face. A curly hair boy, no older than twenty. His hands were blackened dead, and he was covered in dirt. Lena made an indescribable noise.

It stopped just before Lena and spoke. It's raspy voice chilled Trini's blood. His eyes were bloodshot. The air grew colder around him. Trini pulled Kim next to her, grateful for the warmth.

_"Lena Luthor. I have been waiting for you."_

"Who are you?" The green cloak turned towards Jason. It's unnatural green eyes shone with lightning. Dark tendrils reached up from the cloak to catch Lena by the chin.

_"You should know, Red Ranger. After all, I am one of you."_

The cloak parted like to water to reveal that it was fastened with the green coin. 

_"You failed your team, Ranger. Now I have the coin. And I will have my revenge. Do you remember me, my sweet Lena Luthor?"_

He moved to the center of the chasm. The stone and rocks around them trembled. 

_"Do you remember Subject 0331?_ " It whispered. 

"Adam?" Lena gulped. 

The monster gave out a cold laugh. 

_"Not anymore. I am the new Green Ranger. The Green Phantom. And you have awoken me from my grave. Be careful, my dear Lena. I will come for you. Soon."_

"No. No, No, No. What happened to you, Adam?" 

The cloak swirled. The darkness consumed the entire sky. Soul crushing dread filled Trini's heart. Something primal clawed itself out of her throat. A shrill sound echoed through the air. She realized that she was screaming. _Everyone_ was screaming. She fell to her knees. Sweat rolled down her head. The phantom extended a tendril towards Lena. 

_"You have so much darkness inside you. You have wallowed in it. Thrived in it. Conquered it. You will give me so much power."_

Trini realized that Lena was choking. A dark cloud fell above them. The shadow encompassed all of them. Trini's vision blurred. Suddenly, something hurled into the Phantom, knocking it -and Lena- into the shadow. 

"Tri? Trini! I-I can't see!" Kim's panicked voice joustled Trini. She summoned all her strength and threw her hands around Kim. They were floating now. Or maybe it was just Trini. _Me either._ She wanted to tell Kim, but her vision faded and she fell unconscious.


	10. Trini

**Trini**

Trini came too in a darkened room. A head ache tore through her head. A distant buzzing reverberated through the entire floor. She could hear the steam whooshing through overhead vents. She got shakily to her feet, clinging to a pipe on the wall. Pushing her hair aside, she felt her way around the room until her eyes adjusted to the darkness. The room was warm, and she was sweating like crazy. Her eyes were heavy. In the corner, a lone silhouette was slumped against the wall. Recognizing the mop of dark hair, she rushed over to Lena's side.

"Lena?!"

Trini rushed to the brunette's side. "Hey! Are you okay?" She shook her hard. 

Lena let out a sound that sounded like 'Kaaaaar'.

"Hey! Wake up!" Trini whisper-yelled in her ear. 

"Ah!" Lena woke with a start. She recoiled into the wall on instinct. 

"Hey! Hey, It's me. Trini."

"Trini. I can't see, where are we?!"

"I-I don't know. Are you okay?"

"I think so."

Trini waited a few seconds for Lena's to adjust to the darkness. She felt around the room for a button or a lever or something. 

Lena stood abrupty, and then swayed on her feet. She threw out a hand to balance herself. "Woah. Head rush." She shook her head, disoriented. 

"There's a button hidden behind this wire." Lena touched it. Light flooded the room. 

Trini cringed away from the light. "God, is this what a hangover feels like?" 

Lena didn't reply. Instead, she examined the wall to their right. 

"How did you know about the button?" Trini asked.

"Because I've been here before. A long time ago, but..." she trailed off.

"Where is here, exactly?"

"This one. If we can cut this wire, the power to the doors should fail to this part of the ship."

"Ship?!"

Lena removed a small switchblade from her boot. 

"Why do you even have that?!" 

"Are you going to keep questioning me, or would you like to get out of here?"

Trini stomped up to Lena. 

"Pull the doors aside." Lena instructed her.

"How do you know all this?"

Trini grunted in effort from pulling at the door. It unstuck after a few seconds.

"Like I said, I've been here before. I've seen this tech."

Trini watched as the smaller brunette stormed up the hallway and found another door. Lena knocked on it.

"Hello?" A familiar voice echoed on the other side of the room.

"Zack! Are you alright?" 

"Trini? i'm okay! I don't know about Jason though..."

A crash echoed from further up. 

"Guys? What was that?!"

Lena wrenched away a couple pipes from the walls. 

"Open it. Quick."

With three rangers, the door came away a lot easier. Lena rushed to Jason's side, examining his head. She pulled away one of his eyelids and held up her power coin for light. 

"He'll be fine. You might have to carry him."

Zack lifted him easily and gently shook him.

"Hey! Jason. We're gonna walk now, okay? One step at a time."

"Zaaaaaaaack. Dude, I had a _weird_ dream. Wait, why iss the room sswirling? Oh, hey, Trrrrini!"

Lena moved away from them and peered around the hallway. 

Trini took Jason's other side. Together, they carried Jason out the room and followed Lena, since she seemed to sorta know her way around. 

They found Billy around the next corner. 

"Cranston! How'd you get out."

Billy bolted to Jason's side.

"What happened?" he asked in a frenzy.

"He's fine, Billy. At least that's what the Little-Miss-Doctor over here said anyway."

Lena pursed her lips, but Trini spotted a little pride in her eyes. 

"We have to get out of here. C'mon." she muttered and pushed past them. Trini and the others hurried after her. 

Billy yelled from behind. "The others are one the second door to the right!"

Trini nodded and ran ahead. She caught up with Lena easily, and the two of them walked cautiously.

Trini's head swung widely in all directions, trying to take in as much as the 'ship' as she could. It was nothing like she had ever seen before. The doors were a weird hexagonal shape and the wiring were exposed or behind glass. Kim darted out the door to their right. 

"Kim!"

"Tee!"

Trini didn't know who reached first, but suddenly they were hugging. She inhaled Kim's lemony perfume, trying to calm her anxiety. 

"Thank god you're okay. I was so worried."

"Trini smiled against Kim's jacket, still swathed in Kim's warmth. 

"We're fine." she murmured. Kim pulled away, turning her head to the side. 

"What happened to Jason?"

"He's fine." Multiple voices echoed in chorus. 

Kim laughed. "C'mon. We were just about to open this last door."

They followed Kim to the next door, which was about halfway open and pitch black. Kim and Zack pulled it open with ease. Trini felt for the light. 

A lone figure was collapsed on the corner, covered in red and blue. Lena made a noise like she was being strangled and fell to her knees next to the figure. The realization hit Trini like a truck. 

"Supergirl!"

Zack stepped forward to help, but Lena snapped at him. "Don't come closer!"

He raised him arm in peace, but the smaller girl was paying no attention to him. She rolled the blonde superhero over.

Trini gasped quietly. Lime green veins covered the hero's face and neck. Lena fumbled around her neck, grasping a green necklace. Trini pulled it off sharply and tossed it away.

Lena murmured in the blonde's ears. The blonde trembled slightly.

Lena whispered. "Supergirl? Wake up." She prodded the hero.

The tall hero open her eyes abruptly, her hand flying to her neck. She inhaled sharply, only relaxing when she couldn't find the green rock. 

Lena pulled the blonde into a hug. Supergirl's eyes widened in surprise. Trini suddenly felt like she was intruding on something private. She turned away, tugging the hand that was still in Kim's.

The five Rangers stepped out of the room. Zack wandered off, trying to find the control room. Billy tried to get Jason up to speed on what happened. Trini intended to give the two a few seconds before bombarding them with questions, but Lena left the room soon after. 

"She's fine. She just needs a moment." 

Trini nodded and then asked hesitantly.

"Are you okay?"

Lena fixed her with her two different eyes, searching Trini for... something. 

"I'm fine." she said shortly.

Before Trini could ask her about anything else, Supergirl exited the room. She was taller than Kim, but not by too much. She looked for Lena first, and Trini could've sworn she saw her give her a sad smile, but the next second the blonde was bounding up the hallway to Trini to introduce herself. 

"Hello!" the blonde gave her a wide smile. Trini found herself slightly apprehensive of the superhero's cheery attitude.

Kim shook her hand. "Hey! I'm Kimberly. This is Trini." Kim smiled back. 

"I'm Supergirl! I guess you...knew that already. Are you guys friend's of Lena's?" she asked.

"Um, I have no idea."

Supergirl smiled again. "Well, thank you for finding me!" 

A huff echoed from behind Supergirl as Lena pushed past them towards Jason.

Zack bounced back into the hallway. "Guys, I think I found the- oh."

Trini stifled a giggle watching Zack freak out over Supergirl. As far as she knew, he followed her exploits carefully and was the biggest Superhero nerd out of all of them. 

"Supergirl!"

"Hey! That's me. Supergirl." the blonde smiled again. Trini realized that it was the most natural thing that she did.

"Wow. Hello. I'm Zack. Taylor. Zack Taylor. It's nice to meet you. Ahem. This is-This is Billy Cranston and Jason Scott!"

Kim rolled her eyes and bit her lips from smiling. 

"Nice to meet you guys! Oh, is he alright? Let me see."

She stared at Jason's head for a few seconds, and then promptly announced that he was completely fine. 

"Yeah, Lena already checked him. How did you do that?" Trini interjected curiously.

"Well, Lena's a genius." She tapped her eyes. "X-ray vision."

"Cool!" Zack exclaimed.

Lena coughed. "The control room?"

Zack whipped his head around. "Oh, yeah it's this wa-"

Lena pushed past him before he could point the direction. Trini and Kim shrugged at each other and joined Lena. 

Billy steadied Jason as he got to his feet. He had watched the interaction between the Rangers and Supergirl curiously. If he had sensed any tension between Supergirl and Lena, he didn't say anything about it. 

Lena led them to the main control room. There was no sign of the Green Phantom or anyone there. In fact, it was empty except for the single control panel at the center of the room. Lena immediately made her way over to it. After careful consideration, she hit what seemed to Trini as a random button that opened the window-thingys. Trini stared out the glass. Kim's hand snaked into hers. 

"Is that..."

"The Earth?!"

"Where the hell are we?" 

Panic filled the yellow ranger. They weren't even on Earth anymore. They were in space. SPACE! She inhaled and exhaled carefully, trying to manage her breathing. 

"Space." Zack Taylor, stater of the obvious.

"That's not the worst part." Lena muttered under her breath, her hands flying over the control panel.

"What do you mean?" Jason and Supergirl moved to her side. 

"We are programmed to drive straight into a worm hole."

"WHAT?!" they all exclaimed in unison. 

"A worm hole, keep up people! I need to find a way to keep us out of here." 

"Uhhh. Okay. So you got a plan?"

"Not yet."

Trini stared at the overwhelming darkness around them, trying to make out something. Struggling to push down the panic that mounted faster than she she would have liked from the bottom of her guts, she pulled out her power ranger coin. Ranger coin. 

She pushed up to Lena. 

"Zord. Megazord. Can't we use them?"

Lena stared at her in confusion. What...? Trini could see the clogs turn behind her eyes. Suddenly, Trini was slightly afraid of whatever idea was in Lena's brain. 

She nodded at Trini, her eyes lighting up as she told everyone her plan. Her wonderful, awesome, extremely dangerous play that entailed-

"Wait, wait, wait. Let me get this straight. You are going to break away a part of the ship-"

"The drop ship."

"-And tie Supergirl to it. And you want her to yeet us back towards Earth."

"Well that isn't the technical term but-"

"And then you want out zords to catch us when we fall?"

"Essentially, yes."

"And how will Supergirl get back to Earth?"

"We have to move the remaining fuel from the main ship to the drop ship."

"The fuel which is currently burning?" 

"Well, Supergirl has to freeze-breath it first."

"Of course." Jason's voice climbed.

"Was that rhetorical?"

"Yes, Billy." Multiple voices echoed.

"Oh."

"So, why can't we just take the drop ship to Earth?" Zack questioned.

"Because we'll run out of fuel before we reach Earth's orbit." Lena explained patiently.

"And we'll float in space forever."Billy finished.

Lena nodded. 

"Let's not do that." Kim gulped. 

"And supergirl can get to Earth how?"

"The drop ship will explode behind her, giving her a boost towards Earth is she is inside it."

"And she'll glide down to Earth."

Lena hesitated. "No, she'll fly. With this."

She held up a small black box. They all eye'd it, evidently waiting for something to happen. 

"It's a Krypto-suit I modified to generate the power of the yellow sun by a hundred times. Except, it's one use-only."

Trini nodded, still unsure about the specifics of it, but Supergirl jumped up. 

"Well, I don't feel like going though a wormhole today. Let's get this done!" She nodded confidently, like all this was completely normal.

Honestly Trini felt rather faint. 

"How are you two so calm about this?!"

Lena and Supergirl shrugged in unison. And then promptly looked away from each other.

"It's just another quarterly assassination attempt on my life." Lena and Supergirl, even though facing away from each other, cracked a small smile in sync. Trini raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, and I forgot. Welcome." Lena's crinkled. "This is a Daxamite Ship."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All the Villians, their names, everything that isn't canon was completely pulled out of my shiny butt. Supergirl's aerodynamics in space was described very vaguely, but she was able to fly in the baby Sun Eater episode inside a suit, but there was also that episode with Alex when she goes to Space. To compress it, I made it all up and I hope it makes sense.


	11. Lena

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween, everyone! Got an intense one for ya!  
> What are you guys for Halloween? Lemme know, I'm curious.

**Lena**

Lena's brain chugged out calculations and angles and ideal temperatures at at alarming rate. She clutched her Ranger coin tightly in her hand. The rangers were waiting for the ship to move to the ideal 'yeeting' angle so that they don't accidentally bump into the moon or a passing asteroid or land in the the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Lena slumped against the doorway to the jump ship, alone. Analyzing her plan over and over again. 

The pink one, Kimberly, approached her.

"Hey."

"Hey." Lena gave her a tired smile.

"Can I sit down next to you?" She asked.

Lena nodded wordlessly, staring at her watch, counting down the minutes.

"You know, this is a good plan."

"It's an excellent plan." Lena bristled.

"Yeah. It is. But I've been thinking over it. It has one important flaw." Kim fiddled with her thumbs. 

Lena's heart dropped.

"You."

"Excuse me?"

"You don't have a zord, as far as I know."

Lena's shoulder's slumped. These Rangers were more observant than she gave them credit for. Not that she gave them credit for anything, other than annoying her. 

"You can't morph into your armor either. How on Earth do you plan on surviving the fall?" the Pink Ranger continued. 

Lena stared at the drop ship in silence. She had had Jason tie Kara to the strongest piece of metal he could find. It was loaded with as much fuel as they could transfer into it. A simple spark from Supergirl's laser eyes could blow up the whole ship. 

"It's the only way." She bowed her head. 

"No! God, I thought you were the smart one. Like it or not, you are one of us now." Kim's arms started flailing widely. 

"You have no idea what you're saying, Kimberly."

"Kim. Look, When I met these guys, I had reservations too. And Trini was the most suspicious one of us all."

"Trini, the yellow one?"

"Yeah. She spent most of her life feeling like she didn't belong anywhere. When I first met her, she didn't want anything to do with us. We were all so different from each other; and she had enough crazy to deal with already."

"Kim."

"-BUT. She realized that she didn't need to fit in. She needed to be accepted for who she was. She needed a family that would be there for her- always. And we are that to her. We are that to every single one of us."

"..."

"And you are one of us."

"I'm not." Lena replied, stubbornly.

"You ARE. The Ranger coins, they can sense the danger approaching. They help us accordingly. The Coin chose you because we need you."

"You guys seem to have everything figured out already. You don't need me."

Kimberly huffed. "Is that how it looks?" She shook her head.

"Lena, having friends or family isn't easy-"

"Believe me, I know that better than anyone."

"-But it is worth it."

Kim's word were met with silence. Then she sighed.

"Do you know how White Rangers are chosen?"

"I'm sure you'll tell me."

"White Rangers are chosen based on their morality. It chooses only the purest of hearts. It is said that White Rangers cannot be corrupted by darkness. And you? You are surrounded by darkness everyday. You have seen the worst humanity can offer. Yet you are still firm in your goodness. The coin sees that in you, Lena. And I do too."

Lena's eyes filled with salty tears. She turned away to hide them. A strange feeling washed over her gut.

_Do you really?_

She forced the tears back through sheer force of will. 

Kim got to her feet. 

"We need you, Lena." she whispered softly. "And you need this. Us. We can help you."

Lena stared at the pink Ranger's hand. Her words simply did not make sense. Why do they need _her?_ She was nothing like them. They were normal teenagers. Well, at least more normal than Lena could ever be. They are a family already. Like many different heads of a single entity. 

And all Lena ever wanted was to belong somewhere. Anywhere. 

_Luthor's don't need anyone, Lena. We have each other._ Lillian's firm voice snaked through her mind.

 **Friendship is weakness. Family lets you down. You know this already**.

 _They need me?_ This was Lena's voice. Four years old, and so _so_ very scared.

**Don't fall for it again, Lena. You've already been betrayed so many times.**

_I don't need anyone._ Who was Lena trying to convince?

**They don't need you either. They were fine before you arrived.**

_But..._

Lena's resolved solidified. She wrenched her eyes away from Kim's hand. Her voice grew cold and calculated. The coppery taste of blood filled mouth. She realized that she had been chewing on her cheek too hard. 

"This is my mess. I can take care of it myself. Adam was my mistake."

"What?" Kim exclaimed, her voice flooded with confusion.

"I-I don't need you. This Green Phantom is after me. I will take care of myself." Lena stared at her hand, not daring to look at the angry brunette. 

"Wha- No! Lena, have you been listening to me at all?! You don't need to do this alone!"

"I killed him, Kim. This is my fight. And frankly, it is none of your business."

Kim scrutinized Lena's expression. An unreadable expression fell over her face.

"No. _We_ will fight him. You can't even morph! How the hell are you going to defend yourself?"

"I can take care of myself." Lena repeated. 

Kim struggled with her words. Her face went red. Lena could almost hear her grinding her teeth. Kim inhaled and exhaled slowly. 

"Well, he has the green Ranger coin. That makes it over business."

"It's my mess, Kimberly. Stay out of it." Lena snapped.

"NO!" Kimberly's expression grew furious. "We are fighting it together! I am not letting a _civilian_ put herself in danger!"

"You don't need to protect me!" Lena slammed her fist against the wall. She barely remembered getting to her feet.

_Anger is a weakness, Lena._

Lena closed her eyes, struggling to shove her feelings into her little boxes. She can't deal with this right now.

"It's time to go."

"What?!"

"Get to the main control room and strap in. It's going to be a bumpy ride."

Lena walked away without another word. 

"Are you kidding me?!" came a yell from behind her.

Lena reached the panel, her brain back to running calculations. The shields could barely manage re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, but with their superhuman durability, they did have a slightly better chance on surviving this. The ship would definitely not recover from crashing into the Earth, but hopefully everyone else would've jumped out the ship by then. 

Kimberly stomped into the room, still looking pretty angry at her. Before she can say anything to the others, Lena instructed them all to strap into their seats. Tying herself to the main panel, she brought out her coin and her watch.

"Here we go."

"Shouldn't there be a countdown or something?" Zack nervously questioned.

"Seriously, Zack?" Trini grumbled.

Lena hit the button on the watch that Supergirl had given her. A second later, the drop ship detached from the ship.

"You know what? I'm gonna countdown. What do they say, T-minus? I dunno. I'll just-just start the countdown. Five, four, thre- Ahhhh!"

The whole ship jerked forward towards the Earth. 

"Oh god, we're doing this." Billy's voice jumped an octave.

Lena's eyes fluttered close. 

_God, I hate flying._

***

It seemed to take an eternity to reach the Earth, but simultaneously no time at all. Lena's heart pounded in her chest. Her hands flew over the panel, checking everything multiple times, hoping nothing would fail. She directed all excess power units to shields. Connecting the communications to the dropship, she yelled through the comms.

  
"Supergirl? Are you there?"

A moment of static. Lena's heart took a plunge down her esophagus. A second later, Kara's voice screeched through her headset.

"Lena! Is everything good on your end?"

"Yeah. Wait until we get out of the blast radius. I'll tell you when."

"Okay."

She chewed one her lip.

"Do it now!"

"Lena, I have to tell you-"

"Now!"

"Okay!"

"Kara? I'm sorry." Lena wasn't sure if she actually said that or if it was just a loud echo in her head. 

The drop ship light up in the distance. Metal exploded out in all directions. She squinted desperately at the debris. 

"Woah." Jason gulped, his eyes still on the explosion.

Lena wasn't sure if Kara made it out. 

_She has to._

Lena turned towards Earth. She still had to re-enter Earth without burning up, land it somewhere near Angel Grove and not kill everyone in the process. She yanked the nearest lever to her left. 

"Hold on!"

***

Re-entering Earth was a lot more loud than Lena expected. The whole ship whooshed and grunted, but it was still together. Somehow. Lena knew even the smallest crack would cause a huge shift in pressure and could kill them all. Or it could explode. Or shrink on itself. She wouldn't be surprised if it started to snow inside the ship.

Lena punched a few buttons, hoping it will do what she thought it will do. This ship shuddered and tilted abruptly to the left. 

"Never thought I'd say this, but where's Superman when you need him?" Lena muttered under her breath.

But Superman was in Argo City, and Kara was trailing behind her. Somewhere. Hopefully.

"I'm gonna start ejecting you guys outta here!" She shouted over the ruckus.

Jason nodded frantically at her. 

Lena turned back to the panel, flipping levers and checking the altitude every couple seconds. 

"Jason! You're first!" she informed, her finger hovering over the button.

He gulped hesitantly and nodded again.

Lena slammed down on the next three buttons. Jason shot through the ceiling and out above her. 

"Billy!"

The blur Ranger followed the Red out the ship, closely followed but the Zack.

Trini grabbed Kim's hand. "Cya on the flip side. You better live through this, dorkus."

"I promise." Kim's expression softened. Lena looked away. 

"Yeah, sorry to interrupt but you gotta go. Now!" 

"Okay. Do it, Lena."

It was just Kim and her now. She looked at the Pink Ranger. 

"Lena. Don't you dare." Kim warned her, noticing her finger above the button.

"I'm sorry Kim." 

"Yeah, I thought you might say that." she grimaced.

"What?" 

"Hang on."

Something whooshed past Lena and embedded itself on the panel. Lena barely had a second to react before her own chair pushed her up and out. 

Something else whooshed past her, hitting the button she had been hovering over. Kimberly shot out throw the tube, almost colliding into Lena in the process. The ship fell away, no one manning it, straight into the harbor. 

"What the hell, Kimberly?" Lena screamed, but the wind carried away her voice. Kim smiled and moved away. 

Lena flailed through the air, spread-eagled to slow her fall. What the hell was Kim thinking?! Lena couldn't fly, and there was no way Kara could catch up to Lena. 

In the distance, she saw a red and black blur, racing below them. The black one leapt from the ground, safely capturing the Black Ranger in his jaw. She looked away from the ground.

Kim had transformed into her Ranger suit, and was searching from her own Zord on the ground. 

A sonic boom echoed from above her. Kara, flying towards her. Faster than a bullet. But it was too late. The ground was three thousand miles. Two thousand.

A pink flying Zord smashed it's way out of a mountain, flying to Kimberly.

Five hundred.

Kara was too far away. 

Lena closed her eyes. This is how she's going to die, free falling from space. Kara's image was etched in her mind, her hand outstretched, _so very close._

_Well, there are worse ways to die, I guess_. 

At least she saved everyone else.


	12. Lena

**Lena**

Lena was falling again. She was struck by the strangest sense of deja vu. It was uncanny, the way the wind combed through her hair. The scream in her ears, the panic building in her chest.

The _will_ tearing through her body. 

She clenched her hand around the Ranger coin, her veins were starkly blue against her pale skin. The ground was blooming up to meet her; unforgiving and unrelenting; and Lena was unable to look away. It almost looked like the ground was splitting apart, eager to swallow her into the Earth's molten core.

For a second, she almost laughed at the irony. Lex had fallen, too. Exactly like this. With Supergirl above him, staring as he plummeted to his death. Maybe it was his last curse at Lena, to see her fall from her mighty throne, just before she had put two bullets in him. A cherry on top of all the heart break he had caused. 

She mostly wished for one of Lex's trans-matter watches with desperation. 

The chasm grew wider in an alarming rate. The Earth crumbled away around it. It swallowed a few trees and a good stretch of road.

This is it. Lena was finally going mad. She could almost imagine herself falling all the way to hell. She heard the phantom roars of the dishonorable dead, doomed to suffer forever. She saw the white iris' of Death's eyes. It grew bigger and bigger. It's hand outstreched to snatch her out of the air. 

_It was made of metal._

It surged out of the sink hole and landed smoothly on top of the nearest hill. It was the size of the nearest telephone tower, a couple hundred feet tall. 

It glared at the flailing (super)human for a split second through it's glaring red eyes. It leapt into the air, far higher than it should've been physically possible. The Pink Zord - some sort of flying bird? Lena didn't really have time to look closer - swooped down from above it, snagging the White Zord in its sharp talons. 

Lena's eyes widened. The White mass was some sort of animal, with red glowing eyes and razor sharp claws. It unhinged it's jaws, revealing arrays of pointed teeth. The Pink bird gave a demonic screech, and Lena saw Kimberly gesturing wildly from its back. 

_What the hell is she doing?!_

The flying robot pulled a sharp 90 and headed for Lena. The sun glinted of the shiny barbed fangs in it's mouth. The red slits-for-eyes bore into Lena.

She barely had a second to react before the Zord was in front of her. Pulling her hands and feet together, she closed here eyes. 

The sharps stinging she waited for never came. Instead, she slammed into something soft. The air around her vanished. Pain shot up her right hand. 

"FUCK!"

She cradled her wrist against her chest, opening her eyes. She was inside a metal ...closet? Control panel? She had no idea. Random lights blinked inside it. She could feel it moving beneath her. It veered forward, and Lena threw up her hands to brace herself.

"SHIT! FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!" Her hand was bent in an angle that _definitely_ wasn't natural. Dark spots clouded her vision. She almost blacked out from the pain. She bit down on her teeth hard, hoping the pain would keep her from fainting.The whole Zord shuddered and veered right. Lena turned to her side to protect her hand, but it threw her off balance. She crashed into the panel before her violently. 

"FUC-"

"Yeah, we got it!" Kimberly's voice burst from a hidden speaker above her. 

Lena scrambled to right herself. Running her eyes over the cluster of buttons in front of her. Some of them had a few symbols next to them, but most of them were unmarked. She flipped one on. The walls around her turned transparent, revealing pinkish skies and a sleepy town below her. She looked up, not sure what she was looking for. 

"Ahhh!"

"Lena, please stop screaming in our ears, we can hear you perfectly fine." Kim's voice crackled through the comms again. 

"...Kim?"

"Yeah, it's me, you dumbass."

"Excuse me?!"

"What the hell were you thinking!?"

Trini's voice interrupted their exchange. "Are you guys okay?"

"I'm good. Lena?" Kimberly questioned. 

Lena shrieked again.

"Girl, you're killing my eardrums!" Zack complained.

"SHIT! Kim, put me DOWN!" 

"Calm down! Lemme just..." her voice trailed off.

Lena glanced around her. She was inside the White Zord. They were hovering a couple hundred feet above the ground. Above her, the wings of the Pink Zord covered the whole sky. 

"Shit-"

Lena looked up when she suddenly felt the Zord slipping. The claws retracted from the head of the White creature. 

"-Wrong button!" Kim finished.

"KIM!" 

"Oops?" 

The White Zord pivoted gracefully and landed on its feet without Lena feeling a bump.

She inhaled deeply, still cradling her arm. Her heart was racing in her chest. She slumped against the seat, trying to slow it down.

"Lena?" A familiar panicky yell sounded behind her. 

_Kara._

She opened her eyes and the familiar mop of blonde hair landed on top of her Zord hysterically. Lena struggled to push herself up.

"Lena! Are you okay? I thought you- I couldn't- You were falling and- Are you _alright?"_

"Kara?"

"Yes?" Kara held her breath, scanning Lena for broken bones.

"Get me out of here. Please." Lena closed her eyes, almost shameful of asking for help. 

Kara gathered Lena in her arms with almost practiced ease. Lena avoided her eyes, instead choosing to watch the five Rangers run over to her. Their armor had materialized around them, reminding Lena of her anti-Kryptonite suit. She briefly wondered about the kind of metal it was made out of. 

"Lena!" Kim reached her first. Lena smiled weakly at her.

Kara set her down tenderly. Lena forced herself to hobble away, ignoring the warmth Supergirl radiated. 

"Wooooo! hey, Snow Queen! That was-!" Zack bounced over to them.

"-Insane! I can't believe that actually worked." Trini wobbled on her feet. Kim threw her arms out to steady her. 

"You should set your wrist before it heals the wrong way." Billy nodded towards her hand. 

Lena's hand was turning purple already. 

"I'll do it." Kara gestured to her hand. "I can see into your bones. With my X-ray eyes. If-if you want me to, that is. And maybe ice it?"

Lena held out her hand silently. 

Kara nodded and took Lena's hand. 

"So uh... I- How are you?" 

"Kara, just do it, I've been hurt way worse than this." Lena whispered quietly to her.

Supergirl fell silent. Lena could see the hurt in her eyes. It gave Lena a morose sense of revenge. She looked away, feeling sickened by it. Guilt tugged at her heart, but Lena schooled her face into indifference.

The bones snapped into place easily under the blonde's strength. Lena swore loudly and gritted her teeth. She resisted the urge to flinch away from everything. A second later, Kara blew softly over her hand, numbing the pain slightly. 

"Thank you." She muttered and turned away. Zack watched their exchange with interest. 

Kara hesitantly reached out, like she was afraid Lena would crumble before her. "I can fly you to a hospital-"

"No!" Lena cut her off. Kara recoiled at her harsh tone, her face falling.

"Just- no more flying." Lena tried to amend. 

"I'll take you. We'll take you to the mines by Zord. Billy's van should still be there." Zack offered. 

Lena nodded. 

"I'll follow your robots." Kara mumbled. 

The CEO collapsed onto the Pink Ranger. Together, Kim and Zack carried her back to the White Zord. 

***

Lena wove in and out of consciousness on the way to the hospital. She vaguely remembered being back in her Zord. Someone lifting her out of it. The shudders of Billy's old van. White lights. A stinging to her left bicep. 

When she woke up, she found the Rangers sprawled across the room. Only Kim was awake, absent-mindedly stroking Trini's head. They were in a pretty large hospital room. It was furnished with a couple extra beds and a sofa. Empty boxes of takeout were scattered around the room. Lena was hooked to a couple different IV lines, which made it rather difficult to sit up. Kim noticed her struggling and set Trini's head gently onto a nearby pillow.

Lena let out a groggy "What time is it?" 

"Hey. You're still heavily medicated for your hand. And your feet. I have no idea what you just said."

Lena tried again. "What happened?"

"Oh. Well, we got here pretty soon after you passed out. They put us in this _ridiculously-"_ she gestured wildly around them "-expensive room. Something about you owning half their chain of hospitals. Showing up with Supergirl didn't hurt either." 

"Where is she?" Lena asked quietly. 

"Outside. She said she wasn't sure if you wanted to see her."

Lena chewed her lip.

"Do you? Want to see her?" Kim questioned. 

"Not yet." Lena's voice was barely a whisper. 

Kim nodded. She fidgeted with her fingers for a few seconds before bursting out-

"What were you thinking?!"

Lena raised one eyebrow; even though she knew exactly what Kim was going on about.

"What if I hadn't got to you in time?!"

"Kim, my priority was saving you guys."

"No, Lena! You can't do that! Do you have no sense of self-preservation?!"

"I couldn't have saved everyone if I was thinking about myself!"

"For god's sake, you drove off-" Kimberly's voice quietened. "-You drove off a fucking cliff."

Lena fell silent. 

"Honestly, I don't know _how_ you stayed alive all these years." Kim finished her rant. 

Guilt filled Lena. She felt like she should apologize. But instead-

"Thank you." she muttered. "For saving my life. Although I'd argue that I'd saved myself."

Kim rolled her eyes. A few seconds filled the room. 

"What you said, back in the ship-"

"I meant what I said, Kim. I can do this on my own." 

Kim smiled mockingly at her. 

"I can't wait to see how _that_ will turn out." She gave Lena a once-over. "Yeah, no. I meant what I said too. We'll be here for you. All of us. Even if you decide that you'd rather go on this suicide mission yourself."

"I'm not working with anyone, Kim."

"Too late. You're stuck with us. Besides, you can't do anything without learning more about the morphing grid." She grinned.

Lena was too tired to argue with Kim about this. She stared carefully at her hands, turning them over. Something told her Kim was going to be just as stubborn as herself. 

"Only until you secure the Green Ranger coin." she sighed. Kim's smile grew wider. She fist punched the air and huffed silently. 

"So..why don't you work with anyone?"

Lena shrugged, wincing as she felt the bruises in her body resist her.

"Got something to do with you and shiny Superman over there?"she asked casually.

Lena stopped herself. "Nothing. We-we used to work together. Sort of."

"She's was freaking out after you fainted." 

"We were colleagues." Lena stated firmly. 

"Hmm. Okay." Kim rummaged around in a bag at her feet. "I got eyes, y'know."

She pulled out a salad and some kinda juice. 

"She bought this in for you. Said it was your favorite." Seeing Lena open her mouth to protest- "Doctor's orders, you gotta eat." 

Later, Lena would tell herself that it was probably the pain-killers, or stress, or the almost dying. She would swear she had no idea why she had agreed to team up with these five teenagers. But watching them wake up one-by-one, digging through the bag for food; shw knew exactly why she agreed to it.


	13. Lena

**Lena**

Lena woke up a bit later. Someone had pulled back the curtains, letting fresh sunlight into the room. The mess that had occupied most of the room previously was cleaned up. To her left, a small figure was curled up on the couch. She vaguely recognized it as Trini. 

Lena let out a soft groan and pushed herself up. Her dark brown hair fell loosely around her shoulders. Turning away from the bright rays, she found herself meeting warm brown eyes. 

"Morning." A voice sounded to her right, familiar and -surprisingly - welcome. 

"Sam?" Lena's voice was low and coarse. She blinked at the tall woman, slightly in disbelief. Sam hummed in response. 

"Not to sound rude, but what are you doing here?"

"Me? What are _you_ doing here?"

Lena feigned confusion even though she had a pretty good idea what Sam was on about. It was a habit she picked up from Lillian, and she hated herself for using it.

"What do you mean?"

"Lena Kieran Luthor, you know damn well what I mean." Sam whisper-yelled, throwing a glance at the sleeping form on the couch. "you just up and left National City? Then I find out you moved to Angel Grove?"

"I assume you saw my letter?"

"Yes!"

"If this is about me renaming you as my temporary CEO-"

"God, no! You wrote me a letter! Telling me that-" Her voice dropped several octaves-" Supergirl is -is-" She mouthed Kara's name _very_ discreetly. "And I tried to contact you after, but-"

"You ran into my firewalls?"

"Why do you need so many of them?! It took the tech department days to break down! You know -the tech department from the _future?"_

Lena resisted the urge to roll her eyes. A small surge of pride rolled through her.

"I do know about tech department from the future."

"The dragon gecko?"

"Yep."

"The fake Kara from Kaznia?"

"Hmm."

"The mind control alien brother of J'onn's?"

Lena frowned. "That one's new."

Sam looked at her in total aghast. "How are you not freaking out?!"

Lena shrugged in response, surprised when her back didn't resist. 

Sam shook her head, trying to get her thoughts in order. Lena felt the tendrils of guilt seeping through her mind. She'd left Sam alone to deal with all this craziness. Sometimes, Lena forgets that people don't get so many death threats, or talk to aliens, or make quantum portals on a daily basis. Sam's live had been pretty normal before she moved to National City. 

"How's Ruby?"

Sam snapped up at the sound of her daughter's name. A small smile played at her lips.

"She's good. She's four now, you know. Real tall, too. Alex and J'onn have been helping me keep an eye on her."

"I'm glad. She's going to start school soon."

"Yeah." Sam took a shaky breath. "I still can't believe it."

"Still have trouble sleeping?"

Sam gave out a short laugh. "No. Well, I was afraid I might hurt her. Still am. I keep thinking, what if Reign comes back? What if I can't hold her back?"

"She's dead, Sam." Lena reminded her quietly. 

"I know. It's just-" Sam motioned at everything around her. "It's been pretty hectic."

The two remained in a comfortable silence. Lena got up from the bed, her feet wobbly underneath her. She gripped the side of the bed rather hard. Almost _too_ hard, as she felt the metal give way to her fingers. She quickly pulled away from it. Sam stepped forward to help her, but Lena held up a hand. She was fine, she just needed to adjust to her balance. 

She staggered to the shower. Sam handed her a paper bag.

"Holler if you need help. Alex is around her somewhere. And your new friends. I'm gonna get you something to eat."

Lena nodded. She watched Sam walk away with a curious expression. Then, dismissing her thoughts, she hopped in the shower. The bag had a toothbrush and paste that she intended to take full advantage of. Digging through it, she found a pair of jeans, some new underwear and a blue t-shirt she had left at Kara's before... everything. 

She's not going down that train anytime soon. 

***  
  


She walked out of the bathroom fifteen minutes later, feeling a lot more awake and clean. Sam had come back with about seven bags of food. Lena leaned against the wall, watching the ruckus around the takeout. The five Rangers were dressed in different clothes, so she assumed they had gone home at some point. A chorus of 'Good Morning's rang around the room. She nodded politely back. It almost felt like she was intruding on them. 

Noticing her hesitance, Zack walked over to offer her a sandwich and some coffee. She gave him an unsure smile. Out of the five, he seems to be the most observant one, though its hidden beneath his charming smile and easy talk. She filed that information away for later. 

The door burst open once again, giving way to Alex. The red head quickly glanced around the room. Seeing Lena at the corner, she smiled a little tightly and made her way over to her. Zack moved away to give them privacy. 

"Hey. How are you feeling?" It was a tentative question. 

"Fine." Lena nodded at her. She avoided Alex's eyes intently, choosing to watch as Sam threw a take out box at Alex's head. 

"K- _Supergirl_ told me that your wrist healed minutes after you landed. And your friends... you aren't exactly human anymore, are you?"

Lena exhaled slowly. She didn't really know how to explain this.Even _she_ had no idea what was happening. The powers, the giant robots. Adam. She was in the dark, and she hated it. 

Seeing Lena give her no answer, Alex continued. 

"After you got here, they couldn't figure out what was wrong. Your blood clotted too quickly." Alex threw a nervous glance around the room. "Kara called me after that one-" she pointed her fork at Jason- "told her about their durable skin."

"And you came here to see if they were alien?"

"I came because you were hurt. Believe it or not, Lena, we still care about you."

Lena gave a short, humorless laugh. It didn't quite convey the betrayal that she felt inside, but it did make Alex squirm. 

"Well, as you can see." She gestured to herself with her empty hand. "I'm fine."

"Are you really?" The question met hard silence. Seeing the frosty look in Lena's eyes, Alex tried to amend hastily.

"I'm sorry-"

The door slammed open with a bang. The noise drew all eyes to it. The Superhero at the door looked around the room. Lena's froze. 

Kara's sky-blue eyes met her heterochromic ones. For a second, Lena's breath stuck in her chest. She wondered if Kara could hear her heart stutter. 

"Lena! You're awake." Kara muttered her name like it was an antidote to her pain. Relief flooded her features. Lena could hardly manage a tight nod. Something squeezed painfully in her chest. She looked away.

Sam coughed awkwardly. "Supergirl?"

"Ah. Yes." Color rose to the Blonde's cheeks as she straightened in the doorway. Sam gave a deep sigh and, grabbing a bag of takeout, pulled Kara away from the room. 

Lena could feel Kim's eyes burning a hole into her head. Billy and Jason shared a look like - _what was that all about?_

Lena avoided everyone's gaze. They might have a million questions; but they weren't getting any answers today. The silence was practically suffocating. Lena excused herself from the others. 

***

She found a quiet spot on the roof. It was a windy day, and her hair whipped around her face annoyingly, but she found a decently sheltered space behind some electric works. Normally, no one would be allowed on the roof except for emergency medical helicopter services, but in a sleep town like Angel Grove it wasn't really much use. Nevertheless, it worked for Lena. 

Being away from people filled her with a sense of melancholy. It was a familiar feeling to her, after being alone for so long. She gathered her head in her hands, feeling her cool skin against her eyelids.

_Where's a bottle of scotch when you need one?_

She was barely there for ten minutes before a familiar voice sounded near her.

"Lena?" The blonde hero's voice was soft and loaded with guilt.

She wanted to curl into a ball and not feel anything. Instead, she straightened up. 

"Supergirl." Her indifferent voice sounded foreign to her ears. 

"Can we talk? Please?" 

Lena sighed. She knew this was coming, but that didn't mean she was ready for it. She got to her feet reluctantly.

"What would you like to talk about, Kara? About how you betrayed me?" It was uncalled for, sure, but Lena liked to think that she didn't care.

Kara was silent, so the brunette continued.

"I want to hear it. Why? Why did you do it?" 

Kara's eyes filled with tears.

"Was it because I'm a Luthor?" Lena broke on the last word. 

"No! Lena, you know I never saw you like that."

"Then why?!" Lena threw her hands out. "I trusted you with every part of me! I told you about everything! About Lex and Lillian and Jack!"

"I only wanted to protect you, Lena."

"From what? I get plenty of death threats _without_ any of your help! I'm in danger simply because I _exist._ What could you possibly have wanted to protect me from?!" Lena threw her hands around in anger. Her last words reverberated across the somber rooftop. 

"Your right. I wasn't protecting you." Kara met her eyes. "I was only protecting myself."

"Your...self?" 

"I didn't want to lose anyone else." It was barely a whisper from Kara's lips now. She took a few hesitant steps forward. "You are the most important thing in my life. I can't lose you too."

Lena felt her eyes wet with tears. Each word was a hammer to Lena's world. It shook and crumbled while she watched helplessly.

"I was selfish and greedy and _horrible;_ but I wanted to be with you forever. I knew, every time I lied to you, that I only ended up hurting you more and more, but I couldn't stop!"

Lena was held captive by the pain in the blue eyes. She couldn't look away. It was tearing her apart. 

"I couldn't stop because I knew that you'd hate me for it. I couldn't bear to see you looking at me like that. I never meant to hurt you, Lena. And's I'm so _sorry._ I know that nothing I can say right now will make things right again, but for what it's worth, I'm sorry."

Lena wrenched away from Kara. "I-I have to go."

"Lena, _please_ don't run away from this." Kara grabbed her hand. 

"I can't- I can't do this, Supergirl!" She was crying freely now, and she didn't want Kara to see that. 

" _Please._ Talk to me." 

Lena paused mid-step. 

"I-I can't trust you." 

"I know."

"I can't forgive you. Not right now. I need some space, okay?"

Kara sniffed and nodded, wiping away the salty streaks in her face.

"Anything you need." _Just come back to me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorta short but eh. It felt right.


	14. Lena

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Underage drinking.
> 
> Don't drink if you're underage, kids. Not until you're thirty and have a parental consent form. Don't do drugs, either.

**Lena**

**_National City:_ **

**_One week ago._ **

_It was late at night; or maybe early in the morning, Lena couldn't tell. Lights were flickering across the city. The clamor of buses and cars outside Lena's window was a familiar sound. Most days she hardly noticed the commotion. Her workdays were always so hectic. She had to fly between board meetings and checking on subsidiaries and working on her projects. Jess would check up on her, making sure she actually ate something substantial._

_Today was not one of those days._

_Every now and again, a particularly shrill honk will irritate her migraine. She leaned back on her chair, eyes closed, another full glass of scotch in her hand. Her newfound superhuman biology prevented her fro getting drunk easily, but Lena was already a bottle down and then some. Her irritation slowly rose as the amber liquid did not numb her as much as she had hoped it would. She set it back down harshly on her table, glaring at it in distaste._

_Her elevator pinged just then, signaling someone arriving to see her. This visit was fully expected by Lena, but she still squinted at it like it personally offended her._

_With a sigh, she got up and smoothed out her suit. Her dark brunette ponytail was slightly loose, but looked as impeccable as ever. Whatever weariness she felt was masked with a indifferent expression._

_A steady clatter of high heels rounded the corner to reveal a dark suit and blue-grey eyes. The familiarity of it threw Lena off wildly, but her voice was perfectly steady when she offered a greeting._

_"Andrea." It was clipped and abrupt. Lena accompanied the greeting with a nod._

_"Lena." The features of the taller brunette flooded with barely masked belief. "I wasn't sure you wanted to talk."_

_Lena wasn't sure either, but she really needed to get this over with. Andrea extended her arm. Lena barely shook in once before she stepped away rather coldly._

_"Well, I thought it was time we move past our...history." Lena continued. "-AS CEO's of successful companies."_

_She bared her teeth, but the smile didn't quite reach Lena's eyes. Andrea's relief dropped like a stone, but she quickly composed herself._

_"Of course. I presume you have a proposition in mind?" The taller brunette asked brusquely._

_Lena sauntered around her desk and reached for her scotch._

_"Catco. I want you to buy it." Lena's whisper was tinged with a bit of arrogance._

_Andrea pretended to consider it for a moment. She leaned across her desk._

_"What's in it for me?" Her eyes shone dangerously._

_Lena knew what she wanted. Forgiveness. Acceptance. Maybe a chance to get back together, they way they were before she moved to National City._

_Lena can't offer her any of those. Tilting her head slightly, she brought the glass to her lips._

_Instead- "The Queen Consolidated Deal."_

_Seeing Andrea's expression, her lips curled into a smile._

_"You can have it. The merger with their Subsidiary. If I refuse it, you will be their next choice."_

_"Why are you doing this?" Andrea mused._

_"Catco will be an excellent platform to promote your new line of VR lenses."_

_"How do you know about that?!"_

_Lena smiled frostily._

_"I have my ways."_

_Andrea scrutinized her for a few seconds, clearly of two minds._

_"Catco is not the end of what we can offer each other, Andrea." Lena said, softly. "I want to rebuild our partnership. An alliance, between one of my prime subsidiaries and Obsidian North."_

_The taller brunette faltered. This was an golden opportunity for Obsidian North. And as for her relationship with Lena... Well, Andrea really did miss her. She knew things would never be the same between them. The closeness, the affection. But that didn't stop her from hoping. She would be a fool to turn this down._

_Lena could see Andrea's eyes filling with tears. She looked away hastily._

_"Lena... I'm so sorry for what I did."_

_After the life Lena had had, those words almost fell on deaf years. Lena wasn't looking for more apologizes right now. At least, not from Andrea. But she also knew that this needed to happen before they can move forward. She would be lying if she said that she wasn't curious as to why Andrea had betrayed her in the first place._

_"I work for some... dangerous people. They were threatening my father, his company... I couldn't lose him too."_

_"You really don't need to tell me about this, Rojas."_

_"No, you have to know. I never meant to hurt you. What I did, I did it out of love."_

_Lena stilled. The words slapped her in the face. She didn't want to hear this anymore._

_"Andrea."_

_"I hope you will forgive me when you're ready." She wiped her the salty water out of her eyes._

_Lena only nodded, unable to word anything. Her throat had closed up._

_Andrea stepped forward and took her hand._

_"I'm so glad you reached out to me, Lena."_

_"Me too."_

_Lena reached across and snatched a paper from the pile on her desk. Emptying her liquor, she forced the lump in her throat down and turned to Andrea._

_"Now, let's talk numbers."_

_***_

_**Present Day:** _

"I can walk perfectly fine." Lena flinched away from Kimberly. Ignoring the slight hurt on her face, she took a few hesitant steps forward. 

"See!" she spun around, gloating. 

"There's no point arguing with you. Where's the rest of your stuff?" Jason sighed and looked around. 

Over the two days Lena spent at the hospital, the five had been constantly flitting in and out of her hospital room. They piled her with food and books. They had _very_ loud conversations about the proper rules of a monopoly game. It even escalated into a wrestling match between Zack and Jason. They watched with hawk eyes as Alex tried -unsuccessfully- to draw blood from her veins. And they got along absolutely _fine_ with Sam.

It was freaking Lena out. What the heck was happening?! She could still hear Sam and Trini exchanging stories about her brothers and Ruby. 

Thankfully, Doctor Danvers had reported back that her body was healing faster than usual, so she could go home as long as she rested and there were no more murder attempts on her. 

"Already in the jeep." She answered, distracted. Why was Sam waving frantically at her from behind the building? 

"Excuse me a minute." She followed Sam around the block. 

"I have to tell you something." she whispered urgently as she pulled Lena into a shed. 

"Ow!" Lena rubbed her wrist.

"How are you feeling?" Sam questioned. 

"I- Fine, I guess." Confusion colored Lena's voice. "Sam, you're acting weird." 

Sam gazed at her for a few seconds, struggling with words.

"I- I think- No, I _am-_ I don't- I killed Reign, right?"

"What's this about?" 

Sam ran her long fingers through her hair. 

"I- _accidentally-_ I think I can ...float?" her voice dropped with her sheepish tone.

"What?!"

"No, look. One second I was asleep near Ruby's crib, the next I was hanging out with the ceiling!" 

"When did this happen?"

Sam flopped down on the floor and buried her face in her hands.

"A couple weeks ago. The day I got your letter."

Lena resisted the urge to pace around the cramped shed. 

"Well... have you been having gaps in your memory again?"

"No! Alex has been helping me keep an eye on myself."

Lena paused.

"Alex knows?" Why did her voice have to go so high?

"Yes. Well, we couldn't find you and..." Sam trailed off.

"Does Kara?"

"Yeah."

"And what did...Alex say?" 

Her mouth quirked.

"We ran a few tests. Turns out I'm not really human anymore." Sam gave a nervous laugh. "We couldn't find any evidence of Reign and I was fully conscious when I used my powers, so she concluded that I was safe."

"I should've known this would happen." Lena sighed. "It all makes sense now."

Sam gaped at her. 

"What part of this makes sense to you?!"

"Nothing. It's just..."

"Lena. The DEO may know how deal with me, but none of them are you. You have the best guess out of us all."

"..."

"I don't want to hurt Ruby again." Sam whispered softly.

"...I have a few theories." 

"Yes!" 

Lena helped Sam to her feet.

"-But! I need you to come back to my lab so I can confirm them." 

"Promise not to lock me up with Kryptonite again?"

She cracked a smile. "Maybe."

"That's good enough. I'll drop by tomorrow." Sam cocked her head to the side. "Your new friends are looking for you."

"You can hear them?"

"I told you I'm Kryptonian two seconds ago." 

"Of course you can."

They stepped out of the shed. 

"Sorry about your hand, I'm still getting used to basic motor functions. I don't know how- never mind."

"It's okay, Sam."

"Luthor! There you are! Hey Sam!" Trini jogged up to them.

"Everything's ready to go. We just need Sam to sign your papers. And we don't know your address. Where do you live?"

Lena rattled off her new address. 

"Sweet. I gotta go find Billy now, excuse me."

She dashed off again. 

Lena trailed behind Sam as they walked back towards the hospital, barely masking a panic when she saw Alex- and Kara. They were dressed in civilian clothes, for once. Kara hung around indecisively near the doors. 

The redhead walked forward. 

"Sam. Did you- Lena the-" Alex mumbled.

"Yeah. She knows." She threw a glance at Lena. "I'm going gonna take care of paperwork."

"I'll see you tomorrow." 

Sam nodded. With one last smile at Lena, she tugged Alex inside with her. Lena watched as they both disappeared into the hospital, trying to stall the inevitable. 

Kara nervously shoved her hands into her pockets. Her hair was pulled back into a windblown braid. She gave her the same easy smile that Lena had fallen for. 

"How are you holding up?" 

"I'm fine." The answer was out of Lena's mouth before she realized it. 

"Good. That's good."

God, her glasses were askew. Lena's fingers itched to reach out and straighten them. She fiddled with her thumbs uselessly. 

"About yesterday-" she hesitated.

"Time."

"-Time, yes. I understand. I just-" She pulled her hand out of her pocket. "-wanted to give you this."

It was a red watch with her logo on it. 

"This button, it rings on a frequency only I can hear. Sam and I, now. If you press it, I'll be there. You know, if you want to contact me. If you want to talk or- or if you're in danger. Not that I don't think you can take care of yourself, I see you have a lot of people here who care about you. But I care about you too and uh-" her arms flailed at her side.

"-you know, time." she finished weakly. 

Lena stared at her with a blank face. What the hell was she supposed to do?! She half considered running away. Panic filled her whole body, but she forced herself to stand still. 

"Will you take it?" Kara's blue eyes lit up with hope. "Please?"

And she smiled that lop-sided grin that was reserved only for the young CEO. 

Lena hated it. She hated that Kara still cared, it was making it _extremely_ difficult for her to hold a grudge. She hated how her resolve crumbled so easily. She hated feeling unbalanced and out of control.

And she absolutely _despised_ how she badly she wanted to throw herself against Kara and tell her that she could _never_ hate her, no matter what she did. She didn't want that stupid watch, and she didn't want to feel her heart skipping every other beat. She didn't want tell her that Kara was the best thing, the most _important_ thing in her life.

_Her lifeline._

Instead, she held out her arms and tried _very_ hard not to melt into a puddle of misery. 


	15. Trini

**Trini**

They pulled up at Lena's house half an hour later.

Well, that's what the broody brunette called it anyway. House wasn't the word Trini would use. For one, it was enormous. The windows looked Victorian and the front door was made of heavy scented wood. The walls were painted in dull pastels. The garden was trimmed to perfection. Evident tells of weathering and dust were dotted across the cracking stone and cement. It was obvious that the mansion was kept in immaculate conditions, but it just seemed so _dreary._

Despite the harsh glare of midday sunlight, it seemed to be soaked in shadows and gloom. Trini never would've guessed that someone actually lived here. Even her house was always so loud, with her mom yelling and her brothers' raucous laughter. This was just... _sad._

All this seemed to go right over the young CEO's head, as she jumped out of the car and started rummaging through the trunk before it even stopped properly. 

Zack whistled lowly. "This is where you live?"

Lena hummed in response as she tugged at her bags. 

"Are you kidding? This is larger than a college frat house!"

"Yeah, if the frat house was for a horror movie." Kim muttered under her breath. "Lena, this place is giving me the chills."

"Is it?" Lena was still wrestling with her suitcase. Trini got the distant feeling that she couldn't wait to get away. To escape into the somber familiarity of the mansion. 

Jason grabbed the rest of the bags from the back. After a few more seconds of struggle, Lena turned to Trini with a victorious grin as she finally managed to free her suitcase, and then immediately looked away. Kim rolled her eyes at Trini, noticing this exchange. 

Zack bounded up the stairs and peered into the dusty lobby. 

"This place is amazing! I've always loved haunted houses." 

"You cried watching Frankaweenie the other day." Kim interjected, following Zack into the building.

"The dog died!" he exclaimed indignantly, a hand on his chest for dramatic effect.

"And you fell asleep halfway." Jason stepped through with the bags.

"I did not!" 

"Yes, guys, come on right in!" Lena said dryly, her voice laced with sarcasm. 

"Oh perfect, I thought stepping into someone's house without invitation was bad manners." Billy, who was waiting at the door, also entered the room. He gave a pointed look at the rest of the Rangers.

"Wait was that-"

" _Yes, Billy."_

"Oh, shush. I've drove past this house a dozen times, this is the first time I get to explore it." Zack gawked at a medieval armor stand.

"Is that legit?!" 

Trini heard Lena sigh. 

"The kitchen is through there. Don't touch anything that looks suspicious, it might be a present or a bomb from my brother." She paused like it was a perfectly normal thing to say. "My lab is in the basement, don't break anything."

Before anyone can ask her something, she disappeared up the staircase.

Trini shrugged and followed the others into the kitchen. Like everything else in the house, it was a charming mixture between sleek modern and should-have-been-burned-two-centuries-ago. Zack threw open expensive fridge with a flourish, still wearing the helmet from the armor stand. It was stocked with a truly _alarming_ amount of food. And chocolate. _Lots_ of chocolate. 

"Mac and cheese, anyone?"

***  
  


"This is amazing, Zee."

Trini praised the boy, who's cocky face crumpled with pain with the swift kick she gave to his shin. She widened her eyes impatiently and gestured towards Lena. 

The brunette in question was currently picking at her cheese, decidedly ignoring everyone in the room. Her over sized NCU hoodie (how does she even have that?) enveloped her tiny frame, making her look positively swathed in it. Every now and again she would contribute to the conversation, which Trini chose to see as a major improvement. 

"So, uh. Lena!" Zack started, slightly overly-enthusiastic. 

She cocked one eyebrow at him accusingly.

"You know, we were thinking. Since we were in hospital and all-"

"If this is about Supergirl and the others, I assure you, it's none of your business." It had a shade of defensiveness that Trini wasn't expecting. 

"No, it's not that. We just wanted to invite you to-"

"-To a hangout, if you will. At my place." Zack offered. 

"No, thank you." Lena answered stiffly.

" We were just going to catch up on school and homework and stuff. And since, you know, you're a certified genius and all, we could really use your help!" Jason intervened.

"We'll have snacks!" Trini resisted the urge to facepalm.

"And uh, we teach you more about being a Power Ranger!"

Lena's eyes moved to her Ranger coin on her table. 

"You'll tell me about the powers?"

"Yeah!"

"And the space ship?" 

"I'll ask Zordon to tell you everything about the Grid." Jason promised. 

It was met with silence. Lena brought her spoonful to her lips, buying some time for her answer.

Seizing the opportunity, Kimberly pitched in. "Come on, you can be all sullen and miserable there. I'm not leaving you here alone in this creepy mansion." 

Lena threw her a dirty look, and then sighed. 

"I'll consider it."

Zack smiled widely. "Awesome. I'll text you the address." He glanced at his phone. "Shit. It's late, I need to get going, my mom's going to be worried. Billy, start the car?"

"Yeah."

Lena was startled with how quickly the five got out of there. The room was cleared in minutes. They gave a chorus of 'see-you-later-Lena' and piled into the minivan. A few seconds later, they pulled out the driveway. 

She still had a surprised look in her face as her own quiet good bye trailed off. She couldn't figure out this knot of oddballs; or their intents, and that scared her more than see was willing to admit. 

***

Billy dropped off all the Rangers on the way back to his house. 

Zack left first, since he lived further away from the city than everyone else. The made a few quick plans about the next day before Kim had to go too. 

Trini nervously entered her house. It was a lot more silent, but for the first time in a while, she wasn't late. Her mom ignored her during dinner, which was better than usual. Currently, she was sitting cross legged in her brothers' room, helping with their math homework. Actually, the homework sheet lay discarded somewhere under the bed. She was watching her brothers plot out a heist with increasing amusement.

"I got it!" 

"Luke, Shhhh!"

"Tri!" They tugged her shirt. 

"Yeah, what's your big plan?"

"I _got it._ Why don't _you_ go get the cookies? You're tall enough." Troy clapped his hands gleefully. 

"I don't know, what's in it for me?" she whispered conspiratorially. 

Lucas opened his mouth, then closed it a second later.

"You can take a cookie too?" he looked heartbroken at the loss of a single cookie. 

"Why can't I just take all the cookies?"

"No!"

"No!" They both looked horrified at her. 

"No? Okay."

"Please, Tee." Suddenly, Trini had two puppies staring at her. 

"Fiiiine." 

"Yes! Now you have to be all sneaky when you get it." 

"Like a ninja!" Luke added.

"A ninja?" 

"Like-Like this!" Troy crouched down and rolled forward. Trini moved his schoolbag so he wouldn't hit his head on the wall. 

"See!"

"Yeah, I think I got it."

"And make sure you grab five." Troy finished smugly. 

"Five cookies? No. One cookie."

"Five!"

"One."

"Three."

"One." The two looked despondently at her. She added reluctantly. " _Each."_

"Yes!"

Trini got the cookies easily enough. 

"Here you go. Remember to brush your teeth extra careful, okay?" she yelled after them.

"Still spoiling your brothers with sugar, huh?" A soft voice floated in from outside the window. Trini almost tripped into the wall in surprise. 

"Kim!" 

The yellow Rangers turned towards the window, blushing furiously and hoping Kim had not seen it. "What are you doing here?"

She mentally face-palmed, Kim was here every other day. 

"Come on!"

She darted into her room, locking it from the inside. Her window was conveniently placed twenty feet from the ground, which was barely a hop with her powers. 

Sweeping the street for any watchful eyes, she crouched in her window still and jumped up to the roof. It was a quiet night. Almost like being back on the cliff, except with more honking. A warm draft swept the city. It was familiar, up there. They've done this so many times. She knew how Kim's watchful eyes would follow her, an impatient smile in her lips. She knew every weak brick and every hole to avoid. She was sitting on an old blanket Trini had left up there, when the nights got cold.

"Hey." She walked over to Kimberly and sat next to her. Kim hummed in response. Her eyes were half closed, and her lips were pulled down with concern. 

"Cookie?" Trini offered, waving it in front of her face.

"Yeah."

Trini handed her half of the cookie. "What're you thinking about?" 

Kim sighed. "School. Supervillian. Aliens and Lena. Cookie- this is really good!"

"I know. I made it." Trini said, smugly. Kim poked her.

"I didn't know you could make these! I could've been eating this everyday for the last year!" 

"Tragedy."

"It is!"

Trini rolled her eyes and laid down next to her. A comfortable silence filled the air. An owl hooted two doors away. 

She was on the verge of falling asleep when Kim spoke again.

"I'm worried about Lena. Something Sam said..."

"Hmm?"

Kim turned towards her, propping up her chin with her hand. They were suddenly so close now, and Trini could've sworn that Kim heard the sudden loud pounding of her heart. A second later, Kim's short wavy curls landed in her face. She gave a laugh and shook it away, dropping down to lay on the blanket.

"The Green Ranger. Phantom. It- _He_ seemed to know her. And Supergirl."

Trini frowned. "Your right. I mean, Supergirl's gonna know about the sister of Lex Luthor but-"

"But it wasn't like that. They seemed pretty close, or-not close I guess. I don't know."

Kim fell silent, fiddling with her hand agitatedly. 

"Hey, are you okay?" Trini asked softly. 

"It's just- I have a bad feeling. About this Phantom. Lena, she seems pretty used to all this craziness. She didn't even blink when she saw all the zords and the superheroes."

"I wouldn't be surprised if there _was_ a bomb from her brother in that mansion." 

"And we are so _new_ to this. Think about it, we've never faced stronger that Rita. Before that day in the mines, we were still stupid little teenagers who never thought that we would find a place in this world."

Kim hesitated, biting her lip. "All the different people Supergirl fought, they are all so much more powerful that anything we've ever faced before. We couldn't do anything about him when we first got attacked. Are we ready for this?"

_"I'm scared."_

Trini's heart dropped. Hearing Kim say that, so vulnerable and open, it broke her heart. She wrapped her arms around the taller brunette. 

"I'm scared too. Not because I think we can't defeat him, but of losing you. All of you. You guys are my family. I don't know what I would've done if I had left that day. If you hadn't tricked me into jumping with you."

Kim sniffled. "Such a genius." 

"Yes you are." The yellow ranger smiled against the embrace. "Look, I believe in us. The grid has helped us find Lena, and it will help us fight Phantom."

Trini pulled back, her eyes meeting Kim's.

" _We_ can do this. Together, like we always do."

Kim nodded, swiping at her eyes. "I don't know what I'll do without you." 

"Cut your hair shorter?"

She laughed, a melodic conflict from her sniffle. A warmth filled Trini's heart. _She did that._

The pink Ranger held out her hand. 

"C'mon. Enough of doom and gloom for now."

"What, you wanna dance?"

"Sure, let's do it." Kim's smile widened. 

"I was kidding." Trini took her hand anyway. "I have to warn you, I'm not very good at-woahh."

Kim pulled her close, a tiny smirk playing at her lip. She started humming a vaguely familiar tune. 

Trini gulped unnoticeably, trying to slow her _damn_ beating heart. A warm gooey feeling erupted out of her torso, like she was free-falling. She gave Kim a nervous smile. 

The pink Ranger slithered her arm around Trini's waist, steadying her as they swayed to non-existent music. Kim eyes shone with delight as her humming grew into a proper song. She raised their intertwined fingers above Trini's head, twirling them. Trini spun slowly and stepped away as Kim gave an exaggerated bow. 

"M'lady."

Their woven laughter clashed with tranquility of the night. 

"See, that wasn't so bad." 

"Said the girl who was in cheer for three years."

"Please. I've been dancing since I was eight."

Trini looked at her in mild surprise. "That explains a lot."

"It does? Like what?"

"Like how graceful you were when I wiped your ass during our first training session." Trini gave her a cheeky smile.

Kim poked her in defense. "You did not!"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"Speaking of sleep-" Kim leaned over. She caressed the side of Trini's head, and tucked a little tuft behind her ear. "-I better get going. I'll see you at Zack's tomorrow."

"See you." Trini gulped, shoving her hands into her pockets. She was still flustered from the proximity of the two. The taller brunette gave her one last wide smile as she waved goodbye. She casually dropped off the rooftop and leapt away. 

_What had just happened?_


	16. Trini

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yea, so. I'm so sorry that it took so long to come out. It's been rattling around in my drafts for a while, but I wasn't satisfied with it. It's pretty short, and I should probably give you guys some trigger warnings. Also if anyone wants to proof read it/ be my editor, please let me know.
> 
> // TRIGGER WARNING - Sickness, Seizure. //
> 
> And an announcement - Next chapter we take a peek at Kara. Because I just look to torture you guys. Cya!

**Trini**

The sun never seemed to reach the Melody Mobile Home Park. It was a tough neighborhood, far away so the broken homes won't mar the white picket fences of Angel Grove's 'classiest'. It wasn't crowded by any means, the whole area filled with maybe seven families; but everyone there always had a sort of hollow, hungry look in their eyes. It was a lifeless, dreary place that seemed to suck the energy out of you. Trini had no idea how it had produced someone so lively as Zack. 

A few years ago, it had become a dumping ground for abandoned or outdated train cars. Several of them were claimed by the residents of Melody Mobile, but most of them were ruined. Zack 'owned' a few of those near his little shack. The Rangers had salvaged one of the bigger ones into a room of sorts. It was right across Zack's place, and Billy had rigged up some sort of an alarm that Zack's mother could use if she ever needed him. 

Trini dragged her duffel bag up the stairs and into the train-car. The seats were removed (they had a fun time punching those out) and it was littered with blankets and old cushions. Kim had brought a fancy scented candle to dissipate the musty smell. Which had worked. Sort of. 

Zack's grinning face greeted her before she could raise a hand to knock, causing her to almost poke his eyes out.

"Stop doing that with your face." Trini said impassively, pushing past him into the living room. 

Zack brought a hand to his jaw, affronted. "What?"

She turned back to look at him. "...That."

"You mean smiling?"

"Yeah."

"Can't I just be glad to see you?"

"Not this glad. What's up?" 

"You wound me."

He gave her a cheeky grin. 

"Mom helped me make dinner yesterday. Well, I made it while she watched. But _Trini..._ " Zack's eyes shone with happiness. "I think she's getting better."

"Dude, that's amazing!" She turned around. Zack's mom had been sick for a long time. "How is she?"

"She's asleep right now. She was exhausted. But she did say she wanted to talk to you guys..." he frowned, peeking inside her room. "...maybe later."

"What's later?" Jason walked through the open doorway, accompanied by Kim and Billy. 

"Mrs. Taylor wanted to talk." she informed them.

"Oh, cool!" 

"Shh."

"Everybody out! She's sleeping!" Zack ordered. "We don't wanna wake her up."

They all piled into the train car. Even though the deceptively big space was more than enough for the five teenagers, it still seemed cramped due to the five pairs of textbooks scattered around the room. Trini skirted around the pile and settled comfortable on her favorite cushion. Which had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that it was right next to Kim's. Yeah. Totally. 

Four of them let out a collective sigh. Homework. Right. 

"Great! Let's start with Science!" Billy excitedly picked up a textbook.

-

***

Screw it, Trini gave up after three hours. Her neck was sore and aching; she could barely look at another equation without feeling the urge to throw the book across the room. Violently. _Especially_ after Kim fell asleep leaning on her shoulders. She closed her eyes and pretended that she wasn't fully aware of the arm that Kim was curled around. Or the warmth in her cheeks. Or the loud beating of her heart. The soft curls of Kim's hair against her cheek...

A paper ball hit her squarely in the face. She turned towards Zack, an annoyed look already in her face. He had ditched his notebook a while ago, choosing to demolish the pile of food instead. An alarming number of chocolate wrappers were heaped near his feet, obviously the reason of his current, extremely strung-out expression. It was starting to scare her.

He winked at her multiple times, though with too much zeal that it came off as a tick in his eye. He gestured wildly at the two boys in the back of the room, hunched over a massive math book. Jason looked like he was trying to focus at Billy's words, but Trini wasn't sure he was hearing him. She turned back to the Black Ranger and rolled her eyes. Probably shouldn't have let him eat all those candy. He grinned. 

"I-" He started, than he turned sharply to his right. "Lena!"

The crumbs in his lap fell to the floor (Billy shot him a dirty look) as he leapt up to open the door. The young CEO was standing there with indifference, carrying a cardboard box of what looked like a toaster. She looked slightly startled, clearly not expecting Zack to be this enthusiastic.

"Hello." Her familiar voice carries stiffly over from the doorway. 

"How long have you been out there? God, it's freezing. Come on in." 

Trini gently nudged Kim awake, shifting to the side so the two have a little more space. The Pink Ranger sat up and stretched lazily, offering a drowsy smile to Lena. 

"Hey. I wasn't sure you'd come." 

"I wasn't either."

Kim nodded in acceptance, then noticed the box in Lena's hand. "What's that?"

Lena shrugged. She walked over and placed near an open window. "I had trouble sleeping, so I stayed up and tried to come up with a way to track the Ranger coins."

Trini could see Billy's interest pique. He made his way over to the curious contraption to examine it. The 'toaster' was sleek and modern, and looked vaguely like something that she'd seen before. It had three different screens, each showing a different part of a map that she recognized to be Angel Grove. 

"Does it work?" There was an excited tremor in Billy's voice. 

"Well, it still needs a signature to track." Lena pulled up on of the screens. "Currently it's analyzing the signatures in this room, see?"

Trini could clearly see the blinking dots, crowded around a small square in the place marked MMHP on the map. They were color-coded too. Five strong blinking dots on the map, each representing one of the Rangers. One weaker white one, standing for Lena. 

"So we need the green signature if we want to track it?"

Lena nodded, distractedly fiddling with the dials.

"How much area can it analyze? Can it pick up the town from here?"

"It covers most of the town as of now. I've still making some tweaks, but I'm confident we can detect him if he steps anywhere near here."

"How did you make it?" Kim asked curiously.

Lena hesitated. "I've been researching my own coin." She pulled it out. "I realized some of the machines in the ship reacted to it, so it must give of some sort of energy or signature. I just needed to come up with a way to track it. Your ship has a lot of...interesting machines. They are intricately connected to the morphing grid. That's how your chicken robot knows you're there."

"Alpha-5?"

Lena shrugged in response, stepping back after she was sufficiently satisfied with the machine. For the first time since Lena entered, Trini noticed the heavy bags under her eyes, her tired expressions. They were covered expertly with make up, but they were there. 

_How long has she not been sleeping?_

"I can probably optimize it if I knew a little more about it." Lena said pointedly, looking at Jason. He merely grinned. 

"Subtle. We can go to the ship now, if you want."

"I'll get my car."

Lena was out of the trailer and by her (expensive) new convertible before everyone could even get their coats. Even though she was standing perfectly still, Trini could still feel the impatience rolling off her in waves. Her eyes flitted restlessly between all the Rangers. 

"Dibs on Lena's car!" 

"Shotgun!"

Zack and Kim looked at each other, a clear sign of mischief. The both rushed past Trini, pushing and shoving until Zack finally got to the car first. He catapulted into the seat before turning to Kim with a smug smile. 

"You snooze you -Mom?!" He cut himself sharply off with a violent flinch. _Absolute horror_ filled his eyes, an expression that would haunt Trini forever. Something was _wrong._ She knew it before she could turn around. 

A loud crash sounded from his trailer, followed by the familiar clatter of utensils falling on the floor. The incessant beeping of Billy's alarm that she'd never thought she would hear filled the air, spurning the boy into action while his friends froze. 

Before she could begin to comprehend what was happening, a blur of black flashed past her. Zack wrenched the door clean of the hinges as he bolted to his mother's side. Trini wasn't sure how, but suddenly she was inside the room either, kneeling next to Mrs. Taylor's convulsing, frail body. Her eyes were rolled up, foam dribbled from the corner of her mouth. Her fists were clenched tightly, making her pale blue veins stick out more prominently against her skin. 

"SHIT! Billy, call an ambulance!" Jason yelled, sliding down on the other side of the room. 

"What do I do? What do I do?" Zack's voice was fraught with panic as he desperately moved the things away, too afraid to hurt her. 

"Everyone, move!" Lena was next to them suddenly, somehow in her element amongst the chaos. Trini caught a flash of the authority that she carried with her during extreme situations .She dropped down next to him. "Zack, help me turn her to the side. It'll clear the airway."

Both of them gently moved her, like they were afraid she might disintegrate before them. She only sputter wildly.

"I-I don't understand. I don't- She was fine! I swear she was fine, I don't know what happened-"

"Zack! Don't panic, she's going to be fine, okay?" To Trini's utter surprise, Lena took his hand in comfort. He started to breathe sharply.

"Zack, breathe with me. Zack." Trini rubbed his back reassuringly. "Slowly. Good. It's gonna be fine. She's gonna be fine."

He closed his eyes, trying to breathe slower. Lena smiled gratefully at her, and then turned to Jason. "Bring me a blanket."

He nodded and rushed off, returning with a piece of cloth that Lena placed under Mrs.Taylor's head. 

It la-sted for three minutes, or an eternity, Trini wasn't quite sure. Every second seemed to drag on forever, and every new spasm sent fresh waves of anxiety through everyone. But eventually, it did stop. She stilled, her eyes still squeezed shut as tightly as it can be.

"Ma? Can you hear me?" 

His mom's eyes were little shut tightly. She let out a quiet 'ngggnnn', and then managed to slur a few words out in Chinese. 

"No, ma. Don't fall asleep. Look, Kim and Jason are here! You wanted to talk to them right? Just don't fall asleep!"

She didn't reply. 

"Ma! Wake up!" 

"Hospital is gonna take a while to get here, should we take the car?" Kim entered, hanging up her phone.

"No, the nearest hospital is one the other side of town. I have a medical wing in my-" Lena stopped abruptly. "Wait here."

"Where're you going?" Jason yelled after her.

"I'll be right back, check her mouth of blood!"

Lena flew out of the room, slamming the door in the process.

Zack still stared at his mother, unable to tear his eyes away. His breathing was still uneven, his hand clenching Trini's tightly like it was a lifeline. He only looked up when Lena entered the room.

"Clear a space." Lena was back, holding a long black box. She opened it hurriedly, revealing a black syrupy liquid it two different syringes. 

"What is that?" 

"This-" Lena took out one of the syringes and tapped it lightly."is a cure-all. It's made of a special kind of Kryptonite. We developed it last year to cure a-someone I knew."

"We?"

"My brother and I."

"Lex Luthor!?"

"Guys, she's going into seizures again!" Trini warned. 

"She can't survive another one without medical help! She will die without this!"

"Lena, wait a second-"

"We don't have the time!" She turned to Mrs' Taylor, the syringe ready in her hand. "I need to administer this now!. Zack, please."

Zack took one long, shuddering breathe. He exhaled slowly, his eyes looking at his mother.

"You can cure it? All of it?"

"Yes."

He nodded. "I trust you, Lena."

Surprise colored Kim's face, and mirrored by every face in the room. Although, no one was more surprised than Lena herself. For a full second, she was frozen. Dazed. Then she broke out in a smile. A full smile, nothing like the dry humor she defends herself with. Nothing like the cold, hard, inhumane nymph that they had met that day in the mines. No, this was smile of contentment and gratefulness. A promise of friendship.

And then it disappeared. 

It was back to the old Lena, unconcerned and indifferent. So quickly that Trini thought that she had imagined it. But no, she definitely saw a spark of light. So did Kim, judging by the grin that she gave her. 

_Hope._

Lena, oblivious to all the emotions swirling around the room, stepped froward and grasped one weak hand. The vein was easy enough to locate, seeing as she was barely skin and bones. She positioned the needle carefully, hyper-aware of all the eyes on her. The back liquid was clearly visible underneath the skin. It threw Trini wildly off, it was unsettling. But his mother quietened rapidly as the serum worked its way through her shoulders and into her heart.

There was a second of pause, when no one dared to blink, no one dared to breath. His mother went unnaturally limp, her heart stopped beating. A moment when it really did seem like Zack's mother was dead.

But then she sat up, her heart staring again. She took a few short gasps of air, holding the nearest person to her - Lena - extremely tightly (nobody noticed her flinch).

"Zack?" The rasp in her voice disappeared even as she said the word. "What happened?"

"Ma! You're alive! Are you okay?" He pulled her into a hug, his eyes filling up with tears. "God, Lena. You did it!" 

Lena smiled. She had retreated to the back of the room when Mrs.Taylor had released her hand, and she looked like she might bolt any second. 

"You still need to administer the anti-Serum. It will remove the Harun-El from her system."

"Why?"

Lena hesitated. "Prolonged exposure may leads to super strength, enhanced reflexes, sensory augmentation, flight-"

"Oh, cool! She'll be able to fly?"

"-nose bleeds, cardiac problems, multiple organ failure, paralysis and/or death. Among other things." She gave him a dry smile.

"Oh. Will it reverse the healing effects?"

"No."

"Yeah, give her the anti-Serum, please." 

"Good choice."

Lena picked up the other needle from her box, trying to avoid Zack's mom. 

"There. She needs rest, it took a lot out of her. You'll be completely fine by tomorrow."

She stepped back, recapping and replacing the needle. 

"Thank you, dear." Mrs. Taylor smiled. 

Lena returned it with a tight-lipped one, but it just seems to freak her out more.

"Hey, Lena?" Zack swiped at his eyes.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you."

And then suddenly, Lena was encapsulated in a hug. She let out a small indescribable sound, and her arms hung awkwardly around Zack. 

"Your welcome? Sorry, I have to go now. I'll- be outside. Give you guys a minute." Her voice went unnaturally high as she spoke, backing out of the room as soon as Zack let go of her. Like we were all big ferocious tigers encircling the newborn deerling.

She practically fled out of the room, carrying the box with her. Kim sighed softly. 

"That was still progress, I guess. I should go talk to her."

"No." To everybody's surprise - _again -_ it was Billy. "The most logical person to go talk to her is me. I think I know what happened." He had a strange look on his face.

Trini turned to Kim with a curious look. 

"Knock yourself out."


	17. Kara

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, this chapter is more drabble, but I'm back to writing. The next chapter will be more plot-driven.

Kara has been drowning. Drowning for a while now, since that day. Since her words. Maybe even before that. Drowning in her own lies, her own deceit.

Did breathing always take this much effort? Were her lungs really that sluggish, the world so blurry? When did it get so dark?

It was a vicious cycle. It builds and builds until everything gets too much. The noises loud and the lights piercing through her eyelids. She would abandon everything and just fly away. Curl into a ball, thousands of feet above the tallest building in National City. 

The building, of course, was hers. She could never get too far away from it, from her. The bright 'L' sign stares accusing back at her. Here's Kara Zor-El, Champion of Earth. Protector of the Weak. Kara, Hero on the Earth and others. Kara, reduced to panicking at the sight of a building. 

Kara.

_Kara._

It's her again. Her venom drenches her entire body. Kara flinches like it was a slap to her face.

"Lena?"

It was a weak whisper, it sounded pathetic even to her own ears. 

The voice is her without a doubt, even if Kara has never heard the laugh grow this cold and ruthless. 

A whiff of something hits her. An old relic from happier times. A shirt. Her blouse. It twist through the air, directly into her hands. Everything fades away except the dark emerald cloth. 

And the dash of scarlet. 

_Kara!_

This one was of disgust, fury. 

Loathing.

Lena loathes her. 

Kara loathes her. What the hell was she thinking?

She was so selfish. And ignorant. And so desperate for love.

_'I'm right here. And I'm not going anywhere. I'll always be your friend.'_ It mocked her. _I should have known that I could never trust you._

"Lena? I'm so sorry." Kara cried. "I should've never broken that promise."

_You killed me, Kara Danvers. You cut me a thousand times and watched as I bled out on the floor._

"I never wanted to hurt you!"

_You don't deserve me, Kara. Or my love._

Her knees buckle beneath her. Her arms flail, but everything she touches turns to dust. It was the truth in her words weighing her down. The truth and herself. 

_You are the most devious person I've ever met, Kara. You are revolting._

_You are my biggest mistake, my greatest weakness. I wish I never met you, Kara._

"Lena. No, that's not true."

_And now, you will lose me forever, Kara._

"That's not true. That's not true." Kara wheezed, the darkness choking her. She couldn't breathe. 

_Goodbye, Kara._

"Lena, wait!"

_Kara._

Kara. 

"Kara!"

And suddenly it's her sister shaking her awake, pulling her from the depths.

"It's just a nightmare! Are you okay?" Her face was pinched with concern. 

A different kind of wave crashed over her. Guilt. Here she was, making her sister worry unnecessarily over her. Her sister, who stuck with her through everything. Who also has a lot going on right now. 

_You selfish vile person._

"I'm so sorry, Alex." The words tumbled out of her, somewhere from the depths. Kara shoved it back down.

_You took five years of my life, must you take more?_

"Hey! Hey, it's okay!" Her sister pulled her close. "Come here. It was just a nightmare."

Kara took a deep breath and shuddered. "Yeah. I didn't mean to disturb you."

"What?! No, Kara!" Alex gestured hotly and then sighed. 

"Is it her again? Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, I'll be fine." The response was a reflex now, and Kara was too tired to change it. "I just need to be alone right now."

Alex bit her lip. "Kara-"

"Please."

Her sister nodded, resigned. 

"Okay." She stroked Kara's hand. "I'm always here for you. Yubikiri genman, uso tsuitara." She held out her hand.

Kara wiped at her tear. "Yeah. Pinky promise."

Alex nodded. "Try to make it to Sam's? For me?"

"I'll think about it."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah."

And then her anchor was gone. Her other anchor, it seemed to her, was further. On the other end of the universe. Somewhere she could never reach on her own. Not with the iron-clad shackles around her feet, dragging her down. It swallowed her again, and she struggled to breathe, but it felt like comfort. 


End file.
